[quote]
Quote:
Gun deaths per 100,000 population (for the year indicated):
Homicide Suicide Unintentional
USA 4.08 (1999) 6.08 (1999) 0.42 (1999)
Canada 0.54 (1999) 2.65 (1997) 0.15 (1997)
Switzerland 0.50 (1999) 5.78 (1998) -
Scotland 0.12 (1999) 0.27 (1999) -
England/Wales 0.12 (1999/00) 0.22 (1999) 0.01 (1999)
Japan 0.04* (1998) 0.04 (1995) <0.01 (1997)
Source Philip Alpers, Harvard Injury Control Research Center
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so 34 times more likely to get shot and murdered in the USA than the UK, 42 times more likely to get shot and killed by accident in the USA than the UK.
Yes the UK has a rising gun crime problem (21000 incidents of all categories last year, just over 50% of those involving air gun and 15% more imitation firearms) however its still a hell of a lot safer than the USA.
The way to tackle this rise? Far stricter penalties and punishment for anyone caught buying/selling or having a firearm in their possession for starters. 10-15 years mandatory for owning should help.
I cant see why any law abiding citizen would have any need to own a device whose sole purpose for existing is to kill other humans. Further to that, i cant see why any citizen SHOULD be allowed to own such a device.