Gun control without guns
In this programme, Neil and Dan will be discussing alternative gun control, as well as teaching you 6 new items of vocabulary.
Which country has the oldest gun control laws in the world?
a) USA
b) Iceland
c) Japan
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.
to shoot off
to leave somewhere in a hurry
fire away
an expression giving permission for someone to ask a question or speak.
restrain
prevent someone from moving
de-escalate
become less intense
militarise
to equip or use something or someone like an army
arms race
a competition between two groups to gain more weapons than the other group
Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.
Dan
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English—the show that brings you an interesting topic, authentic listening practice and vocabulary to help you improve your language skills. I'm Dan…
Neil
And I'm Neil. In this programme we'll be discussing armed police, as well as teaching you 6 new items of vocabulary, of course.
Dan
Can we get this done quickly today Neil? Only I've got to shoot off to a party later.
Neil
Shoot off meaning leave quickly. Of course we can. And it's funny that you should mention shooting because our topic this week is gun control without guns.
Dan
Is that so? I have a question about that for you.
Neil
Fire away then.
Dan
Fire away, an expression giving permission for someone to ask a question or speak. So, which country has the oldest gun control laws in the world? Is it a) USA, b) Iceland or c) Japan?
Neil
I'm going to guess b) Iceland, just because I've never been there.
Dan
Well, we'll find out if you're right a bit later on. Now, imagine the scene. You are a police officer who has been called out to deal with an incident. When you arrive on scene you find a dangerous criminal. Do you reach for a gun, or a blanket?
Neil
It's got to be a gun.
Dan
Well, in most countries in the world you'd be right, but not in Japan. Despite carrying guns, Japanese police almost never use them. Instead they rely on a combination of martial arts and in many cases where a person is violent, they bring out the futon—which is a kind of blanket—and they wrap them up and restrain them, or prevent them from moving.
Neil
You're pulling my leg.
Dan
Nope! Listen to Japanese journalist Anthony Berteaux describe the situation:
INSERT
Anthony Berteaux, Japanese Journalist
What most Japanese police will do is to get huge futons and essentially roll up the person who is being violent or drunk into a little burrito and carry them back to the station, and calm them down. The response to violence is never violence, it's always to de-escalate it.
Neil
So, they safely restrain the person and wait for the situation to de-escalate, or become less intense.
Dan
Unless a criminal has a gun, Japanese police never fire their weapons
Neil
Surely that means that the criminals always have the advantage then?
Dan
You'd think so, but no. It seems that guns don't really feature in crimes much in Japan.
Neil
Well, that's astonishing. So do you think the criminals don't carry guns because the police don't carry guns or that the police don't carry guns because the criminals don't carry guns?
Dan
Wow, that makes my head hurt! Well I don't know, but listen to what Iain Overton, the Executive Director of Action on Armed Violence says about armed police in society.
INSERT
Iain Overton, the Executive Director of Action on Armed Violence
The American model has been militarise the police, but the challenge I have is that there is very little evidence that a more militarised police results in a more peaceful society.
And I'm very concerned that if you have too many police pulling out guns at the first incidence of crime then you lead to a miniature arms race between police and criminals.
Neil
So, America tends to militarise its police meaning to equip them and use them as an army…
Dan
…and that causes an arms race with the criminals, which is a competition between two groups to have more weapons than the other group.
Neil
He also said that there's not a strong connection between armed police and a peaceful society. So, does that mean that Japanese society is more peaceful?
Dan
Well, violent crime still happens there, but criminals tend to carry other weapons, such as swords and knives, but at least it's a step in the right direction. Now, can you remember the quiz question I asked?
Neil
I think so. You asked me which country has the oldest gun control laws in the world? Is it a) USA, b) Iceland or c) Japan? And I said b) Iceland
Dan
Well, I'm sorry Neil, that's not right. But, don't shoot the messenger, OK? It's Japan, which implemented its gun control laws in 1685.
Neil
How interesting. Now, let's take a look at the vocabulary from this programme.
Dan
Sure, we had shoot off. If you shoot off, it means you leave somewhere in a hurry. What type of verb is it Neil? Can you give us an example?
Neil
It's a phrasal verb so it's used conversationally and usually in an informal context. As for an example, when he heard his wife was sick, he shot off to the hospital. Synonyms could be dash off or run off. Next we had fire away. Now, fire away is an expression giving permission for someone to ask a question or speak. Can you think of any other ways to say the same thing, Dan, if I said, can I ask you a question?
Dan
I'd say yes, of course, go ahead, please do, or by all means. Restrain. If you restrain someone, you prevent them from moving. In another sense, you might restrain yourself from doing something—for example: eating chocolate! Have you ever had to restrain your children for anything, Neil?
Neil
I have to restrain my children all the time, Dan, otherwise they would fight like mad. I have to pull them apart and restrain them. OK, de-escalate —If something de-escalates, it becomes less intense. This is often used in the context of conflicts or argument. Can you think of a historical example, Dan?
Dan
Well, in the 1960s the Cuban missile crises escalated over a period of two weeks and de-escalated only after diplomatic negotiations were successful. But it was pretty close to World War 3 at one point! Militarise. If something is militarised, it is equipped and used like an army. Give me an example of people who have become militarised, Neil.
Neil
Yes, when I was a student in the United Kingdom some of the foreign students had to go home to take part in nation al service—that's join the army for a couple of years—so they became militarised. Now, an arms race. An arms race is a competition between two groups to gain more weapons than the other group. Got an example of that, Dan?
Dan
The most famous example of this is the Cold War. Both the USSR and the USA became involved in an arms race to stockpile as many nuclear weapons as possible.
Well, that's the end of today's 6 Minute English. Please join us again soon!
Neil
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Both
Bye!