A Different View in Favor of Gun ControlDear Eduardo Ferreyra:
by Pierre Lutgen
Gradué en sciences sociales
Luxembourgl
I was astonished by the data published on your English site in an article by Gary Mauser.
They conflict with my beliefs. So I retrieved some data I had and searched for more recent data.
And these data don't change my opinion about the United States where Guns, Religion and Retaliation, Death Penalty and Violence ( 2 200 000 inmates), Racism and Imperialism lead to a country which has more and more problems at home and enemies in the world.
Homicides in large capital cities
Per 100 000 inhabitants
(data compiled by Pierre Lutgen in 1999)
Rio de Janeiro: 88.9 Washington: 69.3 Bogota : 64.3 Puerto Rico SJ 24.5 Moscow: 18.1 Helsinki : 12.1 Amsterdam: 4.2 Beijing : 3.9 Paris: 3.3 London: 2.1 Vienna: 1.8 Rome: 1.7 Brussels: 0.4 This comes close to data I now find on Internet
(CDC National Center for Health Statistics and Brady Campaign)
In 1998 handguns murdered (suicides excluded):
- 373 people in Germany
- 191 people in Canada
- 57 people in Australia
- 19 people in Japan
- 54 people in England and Wales
and 11.789 people in the United States
Canada-US Comparaison
Canada has roughly 1 million handguns while the United States has more than 76 million. While there are other factors affecting murder, suicide and unintentional injury rates, a comparison of data in Canada and the United States suggests that access to handguns may play a role. While the murder rate without guns in the US is roughly equivalent (1.8 times) to that of Canada, the murder rate with handguns is 14.5 times the Canadian rate. The costs of firearms death and injury in the two countries have been compared and estimated to be $495 (US) per resident in the United States compared to $195 per resident in Canada. (www.guncontrol.ca)
The violent crime rate has been steadily declining in Canada over the last two decades, and progressively fewer crimes are being committed with firearms. In 1978, Canada recorded 661 homicides, a rate of 2.76 per 100,000. Of these, 250, or 37.8%, were committed with guns. In 1998, Canada had 555 homicides, a rate of 1.83 per 100,000. Guns were involved in 151 of the homicides, 27% of the total, the lowest proportion since statistics were first collected in 1961. Robberies using firearms accounted for 18% of all such crimes in 1998, down from 25% in 1988 and 37% in 1978.
— The Supreme Court of Canada
GUN RELATED DEATHS AND INJURIES IN SOUTH AFRICA
(www.gca.org.za)
- While the number of people murdered in South Africa since 1994 has actually declined, the number of people killed by guns is increasing annually, from 41% of all murders in 1994 to 49.3% in 2000:
Table 1: Number of Murders with Firearms 1994 - 2000
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Total Murder 26,832 26,637 25,782 24,588 24,875 24,210 22,030 Murder with Firearm 11,134 11,056 11,394 11,224 12,298 12,011 10,854 Firearm Murders as a
Percentage of the Total41.5% 41.5% 44.2% 45.6% 49.4% 49.6% 49.3% - 375 children under the age of 12 and 324 minors between 12 and 17 years of age were killed by guns in 2000 – an average 2 youngsters a day.
- The majority of firearm murder victims were killed with handguns (62%), followed by long guns (24%), which is contrary to the myth that AK47's are the problem in South Africa
- Most crimes involving firearms are on the increase:
Table 5 : Number of Crimes involving Firearms 1996 - 1998
Crime 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Robbery with Firearm 51,004 54,230 74,854 77,500 88,178 Illegal Possession
of Firearm/ Ammunition13,413 13,036 14,554 15,372 14,989 Negligent Handling of Firearm 2,895 3,362 3,384 3,226 3,372 Pointing of Firearm 22,742 23,655 25,375 27,676 27,933 I welcome the publication of these comments and interested in feedback from people knowledgeable in this field.
Pierre Lutgen
Gradué en sciences sociales
Luxembourg
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