Today I read some statistics on Gun deaths in the United States, compared with other countries. The situation has not changed appreciably since I first saw comparative figures about 25 years ago.
So I was surprised to read in the Wikipedia article on Gun Politics in the United States that
Homicide rates as a whole, especially homicides as a result of firearms use, are not always significantly lower in many other developed countries. This is apparent in the UK and Japan, which have very strict gun control.
But these figures for homicides from 1998 show that the article is wrong:
373 people in Germany, 82 million
151 people in Canada, 32 million
57 people in Australia, 20 million
19 people in Japan, 127 million
54 people in England and Wales, 60 million
and
11,789 people in the United States, 300 million
This means that in Japan only .15 people were killed by a gun per million people
while in the UK, nearly 1 person per million died by gun death.
Australia had nearly 3 people per million
Canada and Germany lost nearly 5 people per million
but the United States lost 39 people per million.
These figures do not take into account the thousands who ended their own lives using the guns which are so freely available.
It would be wonderful if someone were to write a more balanced, more factual article for the Wikipedia, but I would guess that such an article would not last long.
1 comment:
Hi David.
The gun stats are interesting alongside the suicide stats.
In Australia the rate of suicide has not gone down, rather is increasing, though the number of deaths dropped dramatically caused by the use of firearms.
BTW I like your blog,I linked here from Westserves one and agree fully with your comment re Neils ordination.
Blessings craig b
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