Malcolm Gladwell on Why We Need More Cops and Why Assault-Rifle Bans Don't Work

Malcolm Gladwell, a well-known chronicler of social phenomena, has written a new book called "The American Way of Killing," which explores America's ongoing struggle with gun violence. In this book, Gladwell argues that Americans on both sides of the gun-control debate are not being honest about the issue. He suggests that the gun-control argument is focused too much on the police, the Second Amendment, and the causes of gun homicides.

Gladwell describes "The American Way of Killing" as an "invention of an epidemic," stating that gun violence is not inherent to the United States but rather a result of specific choices, misunderstandings, and errors made by the country. He believes that the United States can have the same level of homicide as Western European countries if it chooses a different direction.

Regarding assault-rifle bans, Gladwell asserts that they are ineffective and serve as a distraction from the real issues. He believes that targeting a specific class of rifles does not significantly impact overall violence. Instead, he proposes that banning handguns would have a more substantial impact, as the absence of handguns in other countries has led to significantly lower rates of gun violence.

Gladwell also criticizes the understanding of the Second Amendment, arguing that it originated to protect slavery. He contends that the original purpose of the amendment was to allow slave patrols to maintain control over slaves, who outnumbered their white masters in many parts of the South. This historical context has been largely ignored in contemporary discussions about the Second Amendment.

The book suggests that the prevalence of gun violence in the United States is more closely related to crime than to guns themselves. Many gun-related incidents occur when young people engage in arguments and resolve conflicts with firearms. Gladwell advocates for increasing the number of police officers in the United States, as European countries have twice as many police officers per capita and experience lower rates of gun violence.