Pg-#2-
Once Upon a Time...:
There is a substantial amount of mythology surrounding guncontrol. One such myth claims that if we could only reduce the number of guns, that the number of murders would suddenly decrease. Aside from the fact that people have been capable of killing each other long before the advent of guns, this idea is not born out in international comparisons.
Switzerland, Israel and New Zealand all have greater gun availability than the United States and yet have FEWER homicides. A breakdown by country follows for homicide vs. suicide rates:
Country Suicide Rate Homicide Rate Total
United States 12.2 7.59 19.79
Israel 6.0 2.0 8.0
New Zealand 9.7 1.6 11.3
Switzerland 24.45 1.13 25.58
*Rates per 100,000 people
(Source: U.N. Demographic Yearbook, 1985, published, 1986)
Strangely enough, fire arm ownership in the U.S. has enjoyed a significant jump since 1994 , with estimates as high as 2.5 million per year increases. (Source: May 25, 1998, U.S. News and World Reports). BUT, there has been no corresponding increase in gun violence.