Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Ultimately this whole thread is offensive. [View all]DanTex
(20,709 posts)For example, criminologists have observed for a long time that crimes committed with guns are more likely to result in homicide than other crimes, simply because it is so much easier to kill someone with a gun. If you compare violent crime rates overall, you find the US is comparable to other wealthy nations such as in Western Europe, it is only homicide, and gun homicide specifically. This is perfectly consistent with the instrumentality effect -- you aren't more likely to be a victim of a crime in the US, but if you are a victim of a crime, you are much more likely to get shot, and thus more likely to get killed.
And there is plenty more than that. Studies examining statistical trends within the US have also found the same guns/homicide link. Of course, there are other factors that affect homicide rates as well, but none of these factors can account for the fact that the US has by far the highest homicide rate of all developed nations, and yet our overall violent crime rates are not really out of the ordinary. If Americans were really just more violent people, then the US would have more violent crime across the board.