An Oxymoronic Argument: Guns Vs. Condoms

Most Americans have heard the old NRA stand-by, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." As a person with libertarian leanings, I must say that I can agree with the basic premise of this point. With the proper education and respect for these deadly weapons people can be trusted to use them responsibly. Where I get confused is how that same logic is thrown out the window in regards to another potentially life-or-death issue: sex-education and easy access to condoms. Many of the biggest supporters of Second Amendment rights (the right to bear arms, etc.) are politically conservative.

Living my entire life in the southern United States I have been surrounded by proud gun owners, folks of the "You can pry my rifle from my cold, dead hands" variety. I am very familiar with their arguments as to why it is necessary on many levels to keep gun ownership as far removed from government control as possible. When confronted with the difference in gun violence here versus that of less heavily armed countries they often fall back on the above-mentioned theory that no gun ever committed violence on its own. However, these same individuals tend to be those who would keep any sex-education, aside from abstinence-only, out of our public schools.

This is where the oxymoron comes in. What is true for guns is not only untrue for condoms under this perspective - the exact opposite is touted as the reason to withhold education and safety measures. The primary reason many parents oppose things from comprehensive sex-ed to the Gardasil vaccine is their fear that the very mention of sex functions as encouragement to engage in it.

Under this form of twisted logic, the proliferation of guns is fine and does no harm, especially if educational programs are available. Yet the dissemination of information on sexual health, STD prevention, birth control, and the consequences and responsibilities that go hand-in-hand with sexual activity is harmful to the youth of this country. People are afraid to provide their daughters with a vaccine that could prevent cancer because they are afraid it will encourage sex. Many parents argue against easy access to condoms for the same reason, regardless of the fact that condoms are a key factor in the prevention of unwanted pregnancy and transmission of disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 1 million cases of Chlamydia were reported in 2007. The CDC's Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surveillance, 2007 states that the rates of syphilis infections have grown every year since2001 with a 25% increase since 2005 to over 11,000 cases. The South is home to the highest rates of gonorrhea in the country, regardless of purported conservative morals. Most frightening of all, HIV cases increased 15% in the 34 states that have long-term reporting. Sexually transmitted diseases were thought to cost the healthcare system over $15 billion in '07 (Weinstock).

It is all a bit depressing, especially when one considers that the highest rates of disease tend to start around the age of 15. And none of this even touches on the issue of unwanted pregnancy, a whole other can of worms. One cannot be sure of a connection, but the fact that these rates all rose during one of the most morally conservative governments since Reagan bears noting. Abstinence-only programs had the full support of the nation's leadership with the proliferation of condoms viewed as nothing more than permission for teens to become sexually active. Obviously they did not need anyone's permission.

Perhaps we should start applying the NRA's logic to condoms: Condoms don't have sex with people, people have sex with people. All condoms do is prevent disease (some deadly, others only extremely unpleasant) and unwanted pregnancy. No condom ever gave someone HIV. They are cheap and could be readily available, alongside education, to teenagers in the throes of hormonal urges. We need to reverse the mentality that makes an American teen proud to own a gun but too embarrassed to buy a box of Trojans.

Weinstock H, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000.Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2004;36(1):6-10.