Men, Guns and Society

Why do men shoot unarmed civilians - girlfriends, ex-wives, co-workers, students, shoppers, spectators, children? What drives them to kill masses of innocent, law-abiding Americans?

The common claim is that mass shooters are mentally ill. And, to be sure, anyone who would use a gun against unarmed church goers and school kids is ‘crazy’. But mental illness occurs throughout society. If it were a significant cause, we’d see girls, grannies and grandpas blasting away in malls and theaters. But we see only men. And those men are almost always between the age of 15 and 50. So, it would be vastly more accurate to place blame for mass shootings on masculinity than on mental illness.

Masculinity, as measured by testosterone levels, increases rapidly until the age of 20, and then declines 1.25% per year. Men 15 to 50 have high levels of testosterone - levels that are associated with most mass killers.

Does that mean high testosterone levels cause mass shootings? No. But a high level of testosterone is present in all mass shootings. The only other factors present in all mass shootings are masses of people and guns. Men with loaded guns among people – even among close friends and family - is a lethal combination. A gun in a home is seven times more likely to shoot a family member than an intruder.

Until this millennium, society needed men who were killers. It needed them for military service, as fighters and warriors, as protectors and defenders. Aggressive, belligerent men have been essential to our well-being, prosperity and survival.

But what do we do when the killers, when those whom we’ve trusted to protect us, turn their testosterone-fueled aggression against us, when they turn their anger and hatred against the very people they’re supposed to protect? What can we do when we find ourselves in the cross-hairs?

Very, very few men actually turn their semiautomatics against the innocent and the unarmed. Compared to the number of high-testosterone men who own guns, the number who injure, maim and snuff out unsuspecting citizens is miniscule. “So,” men would say, “there are a few bad apples. What’s the big deal?”

One “bad apple” kills, on average, fifteen people. From among the 9,400,000 men who stockpile weapons, ‘a few’ is too many. But even more alarming is the high percentage of the 9.4 million who turn their testosterone-fueled aggression against the public in open forums, in court cases and through contributions to organizations that make it easier for killers to buy weapons and go on killing sprees. What appalls us, and frightens us, is the large segment of the male population that sides with the killers against society. We say, “Protect us,” and men reply, “No! We would rather protect the shooters.”

We cry out, “Hundreds of our friends have been slaughtered by men with assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. High-velocity bullets have splintered children’s bones and scrambled brains. Neighbors have been threatened, crippled and butchered. You are the men. You are the strongest, richest and most powerful segment of society. You are supposed to protect us – women, children, everyone. Instead, you are a major threat, a major cause of fear and death.”

Unmoved by our pleas, men respond, “We have a right to arm ourselves.”

“Of course you do,” we say, then ask, “But tell us, against whom do you arm yourselves? Against an attack by toddlers? Geezers? Wives and mothers?”

Men answer, “No. We must protect ourselves from men, from men with guns.”

It’s at that moment, perhaps, that gunmen will see they’ve been duped into believing they are a solution when in fact they are the problem.