in the U.S. we have more deaths from gunshots than anywhere else in the world, why?

Question

are we just not as responsible with our guns as other countries are who allow their citizens to own guns. how often are people murdered with hunting rifles? not as often as hand guns, I think.
NRA=not responsible *******.

Answer 1

First off, that simply is not true. Secondly, "gunshot deaths" include suicides. The fact that a person owns a gun does not make them more prone to suicide. Japan's rate of death by suicide is higher than ours--and private gun ownership is prohibited.

1000 people are killed by accidental firearm discharge in the US each year. Out of a population of 300 million, that number is pretty small. More people die by falling in their bathtub.

After handguns were banned in both the UK and Australia, deaths (by handguns) increased. That demonstrates how well handgun bans work. I don't think a victim of violent crime is morally superior to someone who shoots and kills an intruder and thus protects herself, family, and community.

Do you?

Firestorm (below) states that there are more firearms in the US than people. Actually, there are 200 million firearms, and 300 million people. But it is still a very good point--ban firearms and most of the 100 million people who own them will simply violate the law. Gun bans are, for the most part, utterly ridiculous and futile.

I know a lot of people who own firearms and not a single one of them would voluntarily turn one in, unless perhaps it was broke beyond repair. I myself would view with contempt anyone who complied with such an inane law. Sometimes ignorance is no excuse for the law.

The fact remains that violent crime remains lower in states with concealed carry laws than in states with handgun bans. States that enact handgun bans almost without exception watch their violent crime rates rise. States that enact CCW laws enjoy declining violent crime rates. What is true for US states is also true for other nations.

Responsible people possess the means to defend themselves and their property. If the government denies you the means to behave responsibly, you are just that much likelier to become a victim.

Answer 2

The overwhelming majority of gun deaths in America are self inflicted or suicide. As for your assertion that rifles are not used in murders I would like to direct your attention to the slayings that happened in Australia on April 28, 1996 when Martin Bryant brandished an AR15 semi-automatic and committed the worlds worst spree murders with a gun. 35 men women and children were murdered that day and 18 others wounded with a rifle. Australia then developed strict gun control laws and the results are:

Countrywide, homicides are up 3.2 percent; Assaults are up 8.6 percent; Amazingly, armed robberies have climbed nearly 45 percent;

In the Australian state of Victoria, gun homicides have climbed 300 percent; In the 25 years before the gun bans, crime in Australia had been dropping steadily, now there has been a reported "dramatic increase" in home burglaries and assaults on the elderly.

Answer 3

A lot of people are dying from gunshot wounds in Rwanda. A lot of people are dying from gunshot wounds in the former USSR. A lot of people are dying from gunshot wounds in Columbia. Most of the people doing the killing in these countries are criminals; just like here.

Just read on Yahoo News that there was a big shootout in Rio de Janerio yesterday leaving 19 people dead. Does Brazil have gun control laws?

Answer 4

South Africa has more gun deaths per capita. However I get your point, there are a disproportionate amount of gun deaths in America compared to international statistics.

In America it is far to easy to obtain a gun, past criminal offenses or mental stability are not always a factor. I need to produce more ID to pick up a parcel at the post office then i do to buy a gun. I have to obtain a licenses to catch fish, drive a car, however that is not an issue for gun ownership.

Answer 5

A buddy of mine answered this quite well in another discussion actually:
It's more about the demographic, really. Countries such as some in the EU established gun control far sooner, and there are far fewer weapons to be had. Here in the US, we have more firearms than we have people, and we also have an enormous number of gunsmiths. Even if you passed a law today that banned all firearms in the US, it would fail miserably, because it would depend entirely on honest people turning in their weapons, and obviously it's not the honest people who we need to worry about in the first place.

Answer 6

WOW!
how about a real question that actually wants a response?
The USA has more crime, PERIOD!
you see a criminal does not care about what is right and the fact that one kills with a gun or a knife or drags somebody behind their pickup until dead or lynches another, it is a criminal act that the victim is dead!
CRIMINALS ARE THE ONES AT FAULT, NOT GUNS OR GUN LAWS!
If EVERYONE HAD TO CARRY A GUN, the Criminals, who are generally cowards, would never attack, because they would die!
GET A GRIP AND OPEN YOUR EYES!

Answer 7

Now that's the story that i've got heard..historically cheddar became into made in a city referred to as Cheddar, and it nonetheless is....At one factor a definite farmer made a batch of cheddar and it became right into slightly darker than his opposition. you spot the colour and style of cheese relies upon on many factors, ordinarily what the cows are feeding on. So, human beings have been intrigued with this adult men cheddar, in line with threat it tasted extra suitable, or maybe it became into the newness of a few thing distinctive, however the humorous element became into that persons began to artificially regulate the colour of their cheese to compete with this guy, the yellower or orangier the extra suitable. And there you have it, yellow cheddar!

Answer 8

I would like you to prove your statement, please. A link, whatever you can provide, would be nice.
However, I want you to know, that most killings in America, are committed with ILLEGAL fire arms attained by criminals, not law-abiding citizens, who have a right to own a gun, to hunt with, and to "Protect themselves, against tyranny and government"----The right to bare arms, the second amendment...

Answer 9

It isn't the guns.

Its our culture.

Witness the TV shows and movies and song perpetuating even glorifying violence. Its almost incessant. This culture of violence permeates us. Its quite literally everywhere in the US.

Combine that with relatively easy access (as compared to other nations) and you have record setting gun violence.

Gun control isn't the answer. Culture shift is.

For those of you who haven't lived overseas...do so and you will immediately know what I am talking about.

Answer 10

How many deaths in the U.S.A. are contributed to vehicle traffic accidents? Over 40 thousands a year. Maybe we should ban motor vehicles as well.