GUNS, CRIME, AND THE SWISS Stephen P. Halbrook, Ph.D., J.D. http://www.stephenhalbrook.com/wallstreet.html Shorter versions published in 1999 in the Wall Street Journal on June 3 (European edition) as Armed to the Teeth, and Free and on June 10 (American edition) as Where Kids and Guns Do Mix.  

GUNS, CRIME, AND THE SWISS ( Snipped ) You proved half your point, but you're not quite there yet. Can you cite any countries that DO heavily restrict gun ownership by the citizenry...but still have high violent crime-rates? Better yet, do you know of any countries where violent crime actually increased after weapons-restrictions were passed? Come up with that and you've REALLY got a devastating argument against gun-control in the U.S.. John Urie - Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -

GUNS, CRIME, AND THE SWISS ( Snipped ) You proved half your point, but you're not quite there yet. Can you cite any countries that DO heavily restrict gun ownership by the citizenry...but still have high violent crime-rates? All, Austrailia, England, Russia, Japan, NZ, Mexico, now Iraq, etc. Better yet, do you know of any countries where violent crime actually increased after weapons-restrictions were passed? All, Austrailia, England, Russia, Japan, NZ, Mexico, now Iraq, etc.      You have some pre and post gun control crime figures on Iraq to share with us?

GUNS, CRIME, AND THE SWISS ( Snipped ) You proved half your point, but you're not quite there yet. Can you cite any countries that DO heavily restrict gun ownership by the citizenry...but still have high violent crime-rates? All, Austrailia, England, Russia, Japan, NZ, Mexico, now Iraq, etc.      Australia's Gun Law Victory Between July 1996 and August 1998 Australian State and Federal governments have been implementing wide-ranging new gun control laws to curb gun-related death and injury. This move closely followed the Tasmanian massacre of 1996, in which a lone gunman shot dead 35 people. According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, in its report, Australian Crime - Facts and Figures, released in October 1999, these laws have significantly affected Australia's crime and injury rates. All gun deaths, be they homicides, suicides or unintentional shootings, have decreased from a total of 521 in 1996 to 437 in 1997. This figure of 437 gun deaths is the lowest number in 18 years (1). Only one out of every five armed robbery in Australia involves a gun, and the number of armed robberies involving a firearm (have) decreased to a six-year low (2). In contrast, robberies involving weapons such as a knife or stick have increased by nearly 20%, which indicates that other weapons are replacing firearms. That such substitution is being accompanied by a decline in gun deaths reveals the lethality of firearms - when they are not used, fewer people are killed. Tasmania provides an interesting case study allowing for an assessment of how gun legislation affects crime rates. This is because Tasmania had few significant gun laws prior to 1991, when it introduced gun controls for rifles and shotguns. These controls were limited, basically introducing a system of lifetime licensing of gun owners. More significant regulations were introduced to Tasmania and the rest of Australia with the Firearms Act of 1996. Research undertaken by Kate Warner, a professor at the University of Tasmania, shows that the Firearms Act has significantly reduced gun crime(3). As she points out, A declining firearm suicide rate, a declining firearm assault rate, a stable firearm robbery rate with a declining proportion of robberies committed with a firearm and a declining proportion of damage to property offences committed with a firearm suggest that firearm regulation has been successful in Tasmania http://www.gca.org.za/facts/briefs/21.htm

In contrast, robberies involving weapons such as a knife or stick have increased by nearly 20%, Sounds like a real victory, since as we all know, only crimes committed with the aid of a firearm count, and only people who are shot to death actually die.   A declining firearm suicide rate, a declining firearm assault rate, a stable firearm robbery rate with a declining proportion of robberies committed with a firearm and a declining proportion of damage to property offences committed with a firearm suggest that firearm regulation has been successful in Tasmania See? They say nothing about the overall suicide rate, the overall assault rate, the overall robbery rate, nor the overall rate of property offences, since the ones not involving firearms simply don't matter.