Americans believe that The Constitution gives us the “right” to bear firearms. (This interpretation is debatable.) Many people feel they are safer with a gun in their home.
Our crime rate is no higher than other industrialized countries – until it comes to homicide, specifically gun-related murders. The U.S. homicide rate is 5 to 7 times higher than that of any other industrialized country. According to 2002 statistics, 76% of homicide offenders knew their victims and guns were used in 63% of these murders.
An interesting note: Between 1993 and 1998, the production of semiautomatic weapons in the U.S. dropped 50% and the production of cheap “junk guns” fell by more than 75%. During that same general time, between 1993 and 2000, homicides using guns and committed by juveniles dropped by 70% – gun-related homicides committed by young adults fell by 40%.
Limiting availability of guns seems to work wonders for reducing violent crime.
* Statistics obtained from Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America’s Prisons by Alan Elsner
