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Guns will not stop gun violence problem

Frederick McKeehan Waterford

Publication: The Day

Published 05/31/2012 12:00 AM
Updated 05/30/2012 05:27 PM

A recent letter, "Guns keep America safe from violence," (May 24), attempted to make a case for the ready availability of guns in the United States resulting in a lower rate of violent crimes compared to the United Kingdom. The "violent crimes" in the U.K. included robberies and burglaries where there were in fact no physical injuries. When the ultimate violence, murder, is compared between the countries, a stark contrast becomes apparent.
In the United States in 2010 there were 12,996 murders, 68 percent committed with firearms, while in Britain there were 765 murders with only 7 percent involving firearms. Adjusting for the population difference, the homicide rate in the U. S. is almost three times that in Britain. If only the gun-related murders were considered, there would be over a 20-fold difference. Guns were involved in 41 percent of U.S. robberies, but only 5 percent of those in the U.K.
The National Rifle Association supported gun show loophole that allows the sale of guns to individuals without adequate background checks allows guns to come into the possession of criminals and mentally unbalanced people. More family members of gun owners become gunshot victims than do intruders. More guns cannot be a solution to gun violence in America.

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