How to Stop a Bullet

Americans sure love their guns. Nothing says the “US of A” like the stars and stripes, Mom’s apple pie, and an AR-15. The latest tally boasts around three hundred thousand guns in the United States – and that’s just handguns. If you throw in their cousins, the rifles and shotguns, the numbers soar to the millions (110 and 86, respectively). Yes, Americans sure love their guns.

I must admit, I’m a gun owner. I keep a .357 at my bedside (to scare off unwanted midnight callers), and a .22 hidden in the kitchen (to ward off a baking ambush). When I moved away from home, the first thing my father handed me was a gun. He came from a long line of responsible gun owners and, to tell you the truth, as a female living alone, I don’t feel safe unless there’s a gun within easy reach. I admit, it’s a sickness…

But gun ownership has taken on frightening dimensions in the US. The latest craze (Freudian slip) is personal body armor. Gun enthusiasts are no longer satisfied with owning assault rifles, now they want to sport Kevlar vests, to boot. Seriously??... I know life can be dangerous, and everyone has the right to protect himself, but if you feel the need to wear a vest, perhaps you should consider a new hobby, move to a better neighborhood, or seek counseling.

Today’s body armor is a manufacturing marvel. These high-tech vests sport state of the art materials and light-weight construction, and can be easily concealed beneath clothing. But this wasn’t always the case. Body armor, like the weapons it protects against, has evolved through the ages. Let’s take a quick tour.

The earliest forms of protection were animal hides. Over two thousand years ago, the Chinese prepared for battle by strapping on the skins of rhinos, which not only protected against clubs and arrows, but would have also doubled as top-notch rain gear. Pacific islanders wove coconut palm fibers into protective garbs, since rhinos were in short supply and coconuts plentiful. The clever Greeks carried bronze shields into battle, while warriors in Central America wore quilted armor, which protected them from weapons, but unfortunately was no match for smallpox.

As metallurgy evolved, so did our means of protection. Chain mail, linked rings or wires made from a variety of metals, was developed around 400 BC in the present-day region of Ukraine. The trend quickly spread and before long, these metallic garments were seen throughout Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. Scale armor was also in vogue. These overlapping plates were made from metal, leather, horn, or bone and were as effective as the rhino gear, minus the ticks and stench. But the pinnacle of armor emerged around the 14^th century when the invention of the crossbow necessitated a bit more protection. Thus, full body armor was born, and these well-protected combatants, decked out in their fancy tin cans, clanked their way to victory.

But everything changed with the introduction of gunpowder. It began in 9^th century China, where clever alchemists mixed saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur into an effective concoction to treat skin infections. The fact that it also exploded was a serendipitous sidenote (although not so much for the patient). Its healing properties aside, this magical mixture was quickly adopted by armies, who packaged it in bombs and mines and merrily blasted their way around the globe. 

The first “hand cannons,” as guns were then called, were used in 1364. A wick was set ablaze, which touched off the gunpowder, which finally launched the projectile – in those days, a small but lethal metal ball. These were cumbersome weapons, requiring reloading each time they were fired; a difficult task amidst the frenzy of combat. Regardless, they spread quickly throughout Europe.

But as civilizations fought their way to power, weapons evolved to keep pace. Within a few hundred years, through the invention of flintlock ignitions, rifles, and, later, Samuel Colt’s revolutionary revolver, guns were everywhere, especially in the New World. There they quickly subdued native populations (albeit assisted by some pretty lethal pathogens) and ushered in that most gun-worshiping period in American history, the Wild West.

That Wild West mentality remains engrained in the American psyche, for guns have become a symbol of freedom, independence, and, (according to many Republicans), the epitome of American culture. And with the proliferation of guns comes the need for better protection, especially for law enforcement officers tasked with patrolling our gun-laden streets. Today’s lightweight vests, which combine high-tech polymers, typically Kevlar, woven together into materials five times stronger than steel, provide a vital layer of protection against a criminal’s bullet. And since cops should be entitled to a technological edge when it comes to fighting crime, bulletproof vests should be restricted to crime fighters.

We often speak of the “evolutionary arms race” - that process that fuels natural selection, ushering in novel adaptations as species struggle to survive. That race is run not only by our genes, but by the cultures that define us. And as weapons evolve, so too do our defenses. Let’s just hope common sense can keep pace.

Catch you next week!