AMERICA’S DEADLY ADDICTION TO GUNS
The US has by far the highest firearm murder rate in the developed world
AMERICA is still mourning its eighth school shooting since January. Former student Nikolas Cruz shot 17 people dead with a semi-automatic rifle during a killing spree in Florida.
While the argument rages as to whether the country needs tighter gun controls, one fact is clear: America’s murder rate from firearms is nearly four times higher than any other country in the developed world.
Figures from the international Small Arms Survey show 29.7 in every million Americans are murdered with a gun every year.
That compares with 7.7 per million in Switzerland, which is a distant second on the list.
In England and Wales, the figure is just 0.7 per million.
One obvious reason why gun deaths are much more common in America is simply that guns themselves are much more common.
Gun ownership is seen as part of the country’s constitution - with the Second Amendment stating that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”.
As a result, there are 270 million legally-owned guns in America, which has a total population of 323 million.
Gun-control advocates say the SecondAmendment was drawn up in a different era, when there were legitimate concerns people might have to defend themselves against tyranny. They also say it would be possible to tighten the rules on who could own a gun - and what guns they could own without breaching constitutional rights. But any change would require the passing of another amendment through Congress, and the pro-gun lobby is a powerful force in American politics. President Donald Trump said in April last year: "I will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms." It’s a stark contrast to the UK which has some of the toughest firearm controls in the world.
After the 1997 Dunblane primary school massacre - in which 17 people were murdered by Thomas Hamilton - the law was changed to effectively ban handguns.
There has only ever been one mass shooting since. In 2010, Derrick Bird killed 12 people in Cumbria with a shotgun and rifle.
Other countries with relatively high firearm murder rates include Italy with 7.1 murders per million of the population - and Belgium, which has 6.8 murders per million.
Italians are allowed to buy some firearms if they follow certain rules but must register them with police forces after their purchase. Belgium, on the other hand, has strict gun law rules yet remains a hotspot for the illegal trade of firearms. Japan has the fewest firearm murders of all developed countries and has almost eradicated gun crime. Just 0.1 person per million is killed by a firearm every year. Current procedures mean prospective firearm owners in Japan must attend an all-day class, take a written exam and pass a shootingrange test with at least 95 per cent accuracy before licences are granted. Further rules include police inspecting guns once a year and expiration of licences after three years.