Leave aside whether you believe in the right to bear arms, as it stands these days. Consider instead: how many guns do Americans have? Is it so large, compared to the rest of the world? Short answer: Yes.
This infographic by ChaCha.com charts out who owns the world's handguns. And the stats are mind-boggling. For example, in the U.S., there are about 90 handguns per 100 people. That's three times what you find in Germany, France, or Sweden. And its 2.5 times what you find in Iraq.
We got there, of course, by our love not just of owning guns, but buying them. Of the world's 875 million firearms, the U.S. buys about 275 million, and roughly 70% of those go to private citizens. Each year, 8 million new guns are produced and 4.5 million are bought by Americans. All of which means that between 40-50% of American households own a gun. Just scroll through this thing for more stats -- some of them are truly astounding:
COMMENTARY: U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that all Americans have the right to bear arms. However, I am not so sure that our nation's founders intended for everyone to pack a pistol. In my opinion control of firearms is very loose and inconsistent. Here's what I propose:
- National gun registration requirements, because there is just too much leeway between the states in this regard.
- Placing a limitation on the number of guns a private citizen can own.
- Semi-automatic and fully-automatic weapons should be strictly prohibited. You don't need a machine gun to go deer hunting.
- Gun licenses should only be issued to individuals after they have passed a gun training course and written examination. Most, if not all the states require passing a written test and driving exam to obtain a driver's license.
It does not surprise me that an estimated 850 million small firearms are owned by private citizens worldwide, or that 270 million are owned by Americans, of which 180 million are in the hands of private citizens. What really stands out is that in the U.S. each private citizens 6/10 th of a gun. The U.S. has 4.5% of the world's population, but owns 21.1% of all guns held by private citizens worldwide.
America leads the world in small arms sales to the rest of the world. With so many guns in the hands of private citizens, a day doesn't go by with a sad story of somebody being shot by a gun, including many small children who shot themselves accidentally because their parents did not store their guns adequately and left them loaded. Gun crimes in the U.S. have gotten out of control and something needs to be done.
Here are some alarming statistics:
- The U.S. ranks #4 in the world with murders by firearms.
- Guns crimes have risen by 89% between 1999 and 2009.
- The number of people injured or killed by guns, excluding air weapons, has increased from 864 in 1998/99 to a provisional figure of 1,760 in 2008/09, an increase of 104 per cent.
The above are appalling statistics and a real cause for concern. Instead of liberalizing gun ownership laws, we should concentrate on reducing the root causes of crime. Tougher gun ownership laws are needed, and the number of guns in the U.S. needs to be reduced.
Courtesy of an article dated December 9, 2010 appearing in Fast Company Design
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