pretty much everyone pro-gun and anti-gun
agrees that guns aren't the problem, it's
hothead officers who don't de-escalate
I don't think it's realistic for America to get rid of guns.
But it seems to me a lot of American police practices that make de-escalating hard come from officer safety concerns, which come in part from the availability of weapons*
Pointing your gun at someone from 20 feet away and not getting closer until they lie face down on the floor is probably great for officer safety - but not exactly conductive to non-shouted conversations or de-escalating.
* Of course knives are also an issue, so a gun ban wouldn't eliminate the problem even if such a thing was possible.
But it seems to me a lot of American police practices that make de-escalating hard come from officer safety concerns, which come in part from the availability of weapons*
Pointing your gun at someone from 20 feet away and not getting closer until they lie face down on the floor is probably great for officer safety - but not exactly conductive to non-shouted conversations or de-escalating.
* Of course knives are also an issue, so a gun ban wouldn't eliminate the problem even if such a thing was possible.