Why Is Gun Violence Worse in the US than Other Countries?

[TheDeuce]

This discussion needed its own thread.

 

The simple/quick answer, IMO, is accessibility. I'm sure that's not the only difference, but I'm interested to hear why others think it is so much worse here in the US.

[UKMustangFan]

Lots of reasons IMO....

 

Accessibility and $$ are probably the top two.

[plantmanky]

How do we know its worse?

[theguru]

According to this article America doesn't even make the top ten in mass shootings:

 

But a study of global mass-shooting incidents from 2009 to 2015 by the Crime Prevention Research Center, headed by economist John Lott, shows the U.S. doesn't lead the world in mass shootings. In fact, it doesn't even make the top 10, when measured by death rate per million population from mass public shootings.

 

So who's tops? Surprisingly, Norway is, with an outlier mass shooting death rate of 1.888 per million (high no doubt because of the rifle assault by political extremist Anders Brevik that claimed 77 lives in 2011). No. 2 is Serbia, at just 0.381, followed by France at 0.347, Macedonia at 0.337, and Albania at 0.206. Slovakia, Finland, Belgium, and Czech Republic all follow. Then comes the U.S., at No. 11, with a death rate of 0.089.

 

Sorry, Despite Gun-Control Advocates' Claims, U.S. Isn't The Worst Country For Mass Shootings | Investor's Business Daily

 

It is an interesting article that covers a lot of the topics we beat around in these threads.

[TheDeuce]

How do we know its worse?

 

It's not the worst, there are definitely countries experiencing much worse. But it could (and should) be better.

 

U.S. Has 31st Highest Rate Of Gun Violence In The World : Goats and Soda : NPR

[UKMustangFan]

We're the most sophisticated, educated and advanced nation on the planet and yet we're okay with being near the bottom in gun violence? Mind-boggling.

[plantmanky]

It's not the worst, there are definitely countries experiencing much worse. But it could (and should) be better.

 

U.S. Has 31st Highest Rate Of Gun Violence In The World : Goats and Soda : NPR

 

 

3.85 deaths due to gun violence per 100,000 people in 2016. This is a little misleading if it includes suicides.

[TheDeuce]

3.85 deaths due to gun violence per 100,000 people in 2016. This is a little misleading if it includes suicides.

 

And still completely relevant as long as suicide is included in every country's numbers.

[TheDeuce]

Let's, for once, instead of trying to find a hundred things wrong with "the numbers" actually discuss the topic at hand.

[plantmanky]

And still completely relevant as long as suicide is included in every country's numbers.

 

How are you defining gun violence?

[plantmanky]

Let's, for once, instead of trying to find a hundred things wrong with "the numbers" actually discuss the topic at hand.

 

Ok, I dont think it is any worse.

[TheDeuce]

How are you defining gun violence?

 

People dying by the way of a gun is my personal definition. I'd assume every individual study has its own definition

[plantmanky]

People dying by the way of a gun.

 

Ok, see post 11.

[TheDeuce]

Ok, I dont think it is any worse.

 

Any worse than what? The numbers in other countries?

[woodsrider]

This discussion needed its own thread.

 

The simple/quick answer, IMO, is accessibility. I'm sure that's not the only difference, but I'm interested to hear why others think it is so much worse here in the US.

Is accessibility greater today in the US than it was 50 years ago? Is gun violence greater today than it was 50 years ago?