PEtrAnESr's Waterfall
Guns are rarely used in self-defense. Of the 29,618,300 violent crimes committed between 2007 and 2011, 0.79% of victims (235,700) protected themselves with a threat of use or use of a firearm, the least-employed protective behavior. In 2010 there were 230 "justifiable homicides" in which a private citizen used a firearm to kill a felon, compared to 8,275 criminal gun homicides (or, 36 criminal homicides for every "justifiable homicide"). Of the 84,495,500 property crimes committed between 2007 and 2011, 0.12% of victims (103,000) protected themselves with a threat of use or use of a firearm
The guns available now were not available back then ( 1791.)
Our guns have changed, shouldn’t our gun laws?
Firearms were a huge part of everyday life – from hunting down dinner to forming one of the many citizen soldier militia groups that kept the peace in the newly formed country.
In 1790s America, we were still just starting out – the population of the whole country was only 3.9 million, which is closer to the population of Los Angeles alone than it is to the entire nation nowadays. To top if off, there was still a very clear and present threat of danger after the Revolutionary War had ended.
The types of guns available at that time were very different from the AR-15s and other semi- and fully-automatic weapons we see on the news these days. In 1791, common guns included muskets and flintlock pistols.
According to the Washington Post, a "Typical Revolutionary-era musket" had a one-round magazine capacity, and it could fire around three effective rounds per minute – in the hands of the most skilled wielder. It's maximum accuracy range had to be within 50 meters. Compare this to a "Typical modern-day AR-15," which has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds, has an effective fire of 45 rounds a minute, and an accuracy range of 550 meters. These are vastly different weapons.
Five women are murdered with guns every day in the United States. A woman's risk of being murdered increases 500% if a gun is present during a domestic dispute.
Out of every country in the world, the USA has the most guns. With a rate of 112.6 guns per 100 residents. This is because guns are legal. Japan puts citizens through a rigorous set of tests.
Japan, which has strict laws for obtaining firearms, seldom has around 10 shooting deaths a year in a population of 127 million people.
If Japanese people want to own a gun, they must attend an all-day class, pass a written test, and achieve at least 95¬curacy during a shooting-range test.
Then they have to pass a mental-health evaluation at a hospital, as well as a background check, in which the government digs into any criminal records or ties and interviews friends and family members.
Finally, they can buy only shotguns and air rifles — no handguns — and must retake the class and the initial exam every three years.
Unlike in the US, Japanese law has long outlawed guns. Still, the wisdom from Japan seems to be that tighter regulations keep guns confined only to those fit to use them.
Therefore, with stricter gun rules the number of gun deaths will decrease drastically.
Check this link to see a graph of the gun deaths in America versus the gun deaths in less violent countries.
Even though it is true that there are more common causes of death than gun usage, it still does not change the fact that in 2013, there were 73,505 nonfatal firearm injuries (23.2 injuries per 100,000 U.S. citizens), and 33,636 deaths due to "injury by firearms" (10.6 deaths per 100,000 U.S. citizens).
They could still find different ways to protect themselves. Example; Knives, tasers, stun guns, an axe, even pepper spray.
More gun control would reduce gun deaths:
13,286 people were killed in the US by firearms in 2015, according to the Gun Violence Archive, and 26,819 people were injured [those figures exclude suicide].
Japan is a country of more than 127 million people, but it rarely sees more than 10 gun deaths a year. Culture is one reason for the low rate, but gun control is a major one, too. Japan has a long list of tests that applicants must pass before gaining access to a small pool of guns.
