The Econmist - USA (2021-11-06)

26 United States The Economist November 6th 2021

A

merica’sclaimtoexceptionalismis

undeniablewhenit comestogun

culture.Itsresidentsown46%ofthe

world’s860mcivilian­heldguns,accord­

ingtoSmallArmsSurvey,a Geneva­

basedresearchoutfit.Thereare120.5

firearmsper 100 Americanresidents—

morethantwicethenumberofsecond­

placeYemen,a countryatwar.Ina Gal­

luppoll40%ofgunslingingerssaidthey

ownedweaponsforhunting.Butwhat

explainssupportforlessmainstream

pro­gunviewssuchasarmingteachers

andcarryingweaponsinpublic?A recent

studybyChristopherEllison,Benjamin

Dowd­Arrow,AmyBurdetteandthree

othersociologistsdelvesintoanimpor­

tantbutoverlookedmotivatingfactor

thathighlightstheroleofreligion.

A surveyof1,572Americanadults

foundthat,apartfromreligiousdenom­

inationorreligiousconservatism,belief

inthedevil,demonsandhellisa strong

predictorofeightpro­gunbeliefs,in­

cludingarmingteachers,carryingcon­

cealedfirearmsandbearinghigh­capac­

itydefensiveweapons.A Catholicwho

believesinsupernaturalevilismore

likelytoholdpro­gunviewsthana Prot­

estantwhodoesnotbelievethatSatanis

corruptingsouls,andviceversa.

Theanalysis,whichcontrolsfor

politicalideologyandotherdemograph­

icfactors,foundthateachstepupona

four­pointscalemeasuringthestrength

ofbeliefinsupernaturalevilcorrelated

with32%moresupportforarmingteach­

ers,anda 38%riseinbackingforcarrying

concealedweapons.Theeffectofbelief

insupernaturalevilonsupportforthe

righttocarryconcealedgunswasrough­

lythesameashavingconservativepoli­

ticsornotpossessinga collegedegree,

butsmallerthantheeffectofgender.

“Theconvictionthatthereisa cosmic

battlebetweenultimategoodandulti­

mateevilbeingwagedonearthaswellas

inthespiritualrealmmaymakethe

worldseemuncertain,riskyandthreat­

ening,”theauthorssuggest,since“indi­

vidualsmaydisplaytheirpropensityfor

evilatanymoment.”Gunrestrictionsare

seenasthreateningGod­givenrightsto

protectsocietyagainstagentsofevil,a

belieftheNationalRifleAssociation

playsupthroughitsuseofreligiousand

civic­dutylanguageinitsadverts.Anoth­

erstudyhasshownthatalt­rightgroups

thatsupportmilitiasandprofessstrident

pro­gunviewsdrawonthelanguageof

biblicalliteralists,assertingthattheyare

fightinga devilishgovernment.

Uncertaintystemmingfromthe

covid­19pandemichasaddedtothe

moraluncertaintyassociatedwithpro­

gunbeliefs.Backgroundchecksrunby

thefbi, thebestnationalproxyforgun

purchases,jumped40%in 2020 com­

paredwith2019.Thatisthebiggestin­

creaseinthelast 20 years,andpurchases

havecontinuedtorise.A preliminary

studyofa pollof2,700Americanresi­

dentsdonebynorc, a researchinstitute

attheUniversityofChicago,foundthat

Americanswhoboughta gunduringthe

pandemicwere(ashaslongbeenthe

case)mostlywhite,male,conservative

andlesseducated.Buttheauthorsalso

foundthatthosenewgunownershad

recentlybecomemorereligiousorbe­

comeunemployed,andweremorelikely

tobeintheirlateteens,twenties,or

thirties—ratherthanmiddle­aged.

TheSupremeCourtheardarguments

onNovember3rdregardingrestrictions

onNewYorkers’abilitytocarrycon­

cealedweapons.Itisoneofthemost

importantgun­rightscasessinceJustice

AntoninScalia’slandmarkrulingin 2008

supportingtherighttokeepweaponsat

homeforself­defence.Scalia,too,be­

lievedtheDevilisa “realperson”.

Gunsandreligion

No sympathyfor the devil

N EWYORK

Beliefinsupernaturalevilisa strongpredictorofpro-gunbeliefs

JustcallmeLucifer

..............................................................

“Peace through superior firepower: Belief in

supernatural evil and attitudes toward gun policy

in the United States,” by Christopher G. Ellison,

Benjamin Dowd-Arrow, Amy M. Burdette, Pablo

Gonzalez, Margaret S. Kelley and Paul Froese,

Social Science Research.

Gun rights were top­of­mind for Justice

Kavanaugh  during  the  abortion  hearings,

no doubt, because November 3rd brought a

major Second Amendment case to the Su­

preme  Court.  In  2008  the  court  struck

down a handgun regulation in the District

of Columbia, recognising for the first time

an individual’s right to keep a gun at home

for  self­defence.  But  despite  repeated  en­

treaties  in  the  ensuing  decade  from  gun­

rights  organisations,  the  justices  refused

to weigh in on the constitutionality of oth­

er regulations. That drought ended in New

York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen,

a challenge to a 108­year­old gun­licensing

regime in New York.

Since 1913 New York has permitted only

those  who  show  “proper  cause”  to  carry

concealed  weapons.  Although  “restricted”

permits  are  available  to  hunt  or  to  tote  a

handgun to target practice (and one of the

plaintiffs in Bruenhad permission to carry

his  weapon  between  his  home  and  his

workplace),  mere  fear  of  crime  does  not

suffice for a blanket licence. The rifle asso­

ciation  argues  that  the  state  may  not  “re­

serve for a happy few a right that the con­

stitution protects for all ‘the people’”. New

York  defends  its  law  as  consistent  with  a

700­year­long line of weapons restrictions

dating back to medieval England. 

The political debate over how to handle

America’s  epidemic  of  mass  shootings

found  little  air  in  court.  Instead,  finicky

history guided the debate. One dispute in­

volved the true meaning of the 1328 Statute

of Northampton. New York pointed to the

law’s prohibition on going “armed by night

nor by day” in places like “fairs” and “mar­

kets” as a precedent, while the rifle organi­

sation insisted that laws of that period on­

ly prohibited carrying arms “to the terror of

the people”. Peaceful gun toters were wel­

come in the 14th century, the plaintiffs say,

and should be today.  

Several  justices  fretted  over  the  pros­

pect  of  more  guns  on  the  streets  of  New

York  City  should  the  law  be  struck  down.

The  challenger  had  a  tough  time  explain­

ing which “sensitive places”—from Yankee

stadium and the New York University cam­

pus to the subway—could be declared gun­

free. But he concluded on a note that seems

very likely to attract six votes. Having to es­

tablish  that  you  are  an  “atypical”  member

of the community in order to get a general­

carry  licence  “describes  a  privilege”,  the

lawyer said, not “a constitutional right.” 

Neither dispute will be the last word on

these  perennially  hot  topics.  The  days  of

Texas’s SB 8 may be numbered, but on De­

cember 1st a showdown focused on the na­

ture of the abortion right comes up for ar­

gument. And if the justices treat Bruenas a

stepping­stone rather than a sweeping op­

portunity  to  strike  downgun  regulations,

they  will  have  more cases to  consider

whenever they’re ready.n