U.K. Gun Curbs Mean More Violence Yet Fewer Deaths Than in U.S.
By Robert Hutton Apr 24, 2013 6:38 AM ET
The U.K.’s strict gun controls mean it has a lower homicide rate than the U.S. even though there’s more violent crime, according to a study that also found violence in Britain fell over the past decade.
According to the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace, the U.K. had 933 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2012, down from 1,255 in 2003. In the U.S., the figure for 2010 was 399 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Still, while the U.S. violent-crime rate is less than half Britain’s, its homicide rate between 2003 and 2011 was almost four times as high.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-24/u-k-gun-curbs-mean-more-violence-yet-fewer-deaths-than-in-u-s-.html
I will definitely agree that knifes are less deadly at a distance than firearms. However if a person wishes to kill you and knows something about knife fighting, a knife is as deadly as a handgun at close range. Fortunately most people lack the skill and training to kill swiftly with a knife. A gun is far easier to use.
Of course it could be argued that the reason we have a lower crime rate in the United States than the UK does is because citizens here can own and often carry firearms for self defense.
Crime in the United States has been present since colonization. Crime rates have varied over time, with a sharp rise after World War II, before peaking between the 1970s and early 1990s. Since the early 1990s, crime has declined in the United States,[1] and current crime rates are approximately the same as those of the 1960s.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States
Realistically there are a number of factors to explain why the crime rate has dropped in our nation which are mentioned in the article.
I find it somewhat interesting that there is a correlation between the drop in the crime rate which began in the early 1990s during the same time period that "shall issue" concealed carry laws were beginning to sweep across our nation. Florida started this trend in 1987 when the state passed its version of "shall issue" concealed carry which became the model for other states to use.
However it would be foolish to attribute the drop in the crime rate to legislation such as concealed carry and castle doctrine. Still such laws did not cause a major increase in the crime rate. Also during this time frame, the sale of firearms in our nation began to absolutely skyrocket and semiautomatic firearms gained popularity over older technology such as revolvers and bolt action rifles.
To me it seems obvious that while more guns may not mean less crime, more guns does not necessarily mean more crime.
That doesn't mean that I feel that we can't make changes to our national gun laws in order to insure that only honest, responsible and sane people can buy and own firearms. I feel the problem is that many in the gun control movement favor banning and restricting certain firearms and place far less emphasis on better regulations on the sale of these items and efforts to stop the straw purchase and the smuggling of firearms.
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