Do Guns Make People Crazy?

Last Wednesday an  83-year-old Minnesota man went nuts and had a shootout with cops. After coming out blazing with two handguns he was shot by two cops. He was declared dead at a Mayo Clinic in Mankato.

On Friday night a Minnesota man holed up in his townhouse after relatives reported that he was making suicidal comments. The cops checked on him and found him pointing a shotgun at his head. They retreated, sent in robots to check on him, and eventually negotiated a surrender.

In December a Minnesota man shot and wounded his wife. She then barricaded herself in the bathroom, and texted her neighbor for help. The husband shot himself when the cops came to rescue her.

Is everyone in Minnesota going crazy? Or just the men with guns?

The basic theorem of the NRA's logic in gun ownership is that guns don't kill people, people kill people. The corollary to this theorem is that only criminals and crazy people should be prevented from having guns.

But what if the very act of owning a gun makes you crazy?

The Slippery Slope

By definition, if you own a gun you intend to kill someone should the opportunity present itself. You think killing people is okay, and you don't mind doing it. This lack of empathy could be the first sign of psychopathy. The idea that you need to protect yourself from unknown people may be the first sign of paranoia. In any case, by taking this first step down the slippery slope gun owners slowly buy into the idea of murder.

At first guns are only acceptable for self defense: my life is worth another life. Then guns become necessary to protect one's belongings: my stereo is worth a life. Then guns are required to prevent trespassing: my privacy is worth a life. Then guns become desirable fashion accessories wherever I go: I need one to enforce good manners on other people. Then the gun becomes the first response in any situation, including suggestions of reasonable gun laws or the loss of an election.

Gun Addiction

Gun ownership is like drug addiction. It starts out with a gateway gun: a revolver purchased for self defense when a neighbor's home is broken into. Then a shotgun, because it's hard to aim in the dark and you want to make sure you get the bastard. Then a Glock pistol for target practice, with a 20-round clip so you don't have to reload as often. Then a Desert Eagle, because, boy does that bitch have a kick! Then an AR-15 in case society breaks down and you need a rifle that can do everything. Then a semiautomatic AK 47 that can be converted to full auto with a little kit you got off the Internet, because, well, you can never have enough protection after the federal government invades and the Apocalypse is nigh.

It explodes into full-blown paranoia when a terrible tragedy occurs — like Sandy Hook, a black president getting elected, or there's talk of limiting magazine size — and a massive gun- and ammo-buying binge sweeps the country.

The Scientific Basis of Addiction

The major factor in most addictions is the rush of dopamine into the brain. It happens with cocaine, running, gambling, shopping, porn, sex, food, nicotine, caffeine and, yes, as the NRA says, video games. But for the same reason video games are addictive, so too are guns: the thrill of shooting a real live full-auto AK gives the same rush that any first person shooter video game gives. Only a real gun is a thousand times better because it acts on all the senses: the feel of cool smooth metal and a coarse grip, the smell of the powder and oil on hot metal, the warmth of the barrel, the flash of heat on the skin, the powerful recoil as you fight to control the sheer power in your hands. That's when the blood and adrenalin really start pumping and the brain is filled with dopamine.

Movies and video games are just pale imitations on a screen. Being addicted to a video game might kill you if you play for 40 hours straight, but it's no more likely to make you go on a shooting spree than a runner's high.

As with any addiction, the surge of dopamine declines over time and a gun addict needs greater stimulation: more guns, more ammo, bigger caliber, bigger magazines. After a time just thinking of shooting makes the addict happy. He starts cooking up schemes to skip work to get his fix at the range, because it just feels so god-damned good there. He drops all his old friends and hangs out with fellow gun addicts. And then, finally, he starts to think how good it would feel to shoot his boss, or his ex-wife, or the stupid bitch that lives next door or the 13-year-old black kid he's certain stole his guns.

Because of the dopamine surge that they evoke guns become a natural response to any stressful situation. Just like any smoker, cokehead or gambling addict.

Sure, many of these shooters started out crazy and guns come second. The NRA wants to prevent them from getting guns. But how many people start out with guns and then go crazy? Shouldn't we be just as worried about them?

The men involved with the incidents of madness above were probably all mentally stable at one point. But over time they lost it. Did guns warp the pleasure centers of these men's brains, deaden their sense of empathy and cheapen life?