Why is there a decline in gun murders?
No one knows why the rate of gun homicide has dropped over the past 20 years. There is some consensus that it may simply be a matter of demographics. The Pew Research Centre notes that the large post-war baby boom created a lot of people aged 15 to 20, a high-crime age bracket, in the 1960s and 1970s, which contributed to a rise in crime.
Some of the more controversial reasons suggested by researchers relate to abortion and lead exposure. One theory that has been floated is that the 1973 legalization of abortion resulted in a decrease in the number of unwanted children, a cohort that might be considered at higher risk of turning criminal.
Another is that a reduction in the use of lead in gasoline during the 1970s reduced exposure to a substance that can cause brain damage and possibly violent behaviour. The National Academy of Sciences, a non-profit that aims to give independent advice related to science, questioned whether either idea played a major role in the drop in gun crime.
How does the U.S. compare to the rest of the world?
According to 2009 data collected by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the U.S. sees 3.3 homicides by firearm for every 100,000 citizens. By comparison, Canada's rate is 0.5 homicides and the U.K. is 0.1. Most European countries sit somewhere in the same range.
China and Russia are not in the UNODC roundup, and there are many countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean and parts of Africa that have much higher rates than the U.S. Mexico, for example, has three times the U.S. rate for gun homicides according to UNODC data. In Colombia and Venezuela, the rates per 100,000 are 27 and 38.9 respectively. In South Africa, it is 17.03 gun homicide deaths per 100,000 people.
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story/1.1858107
So what exactly keeps Americans from killing each other--as much as Mexicans--with firearms?
Is it "freedom" (undefined), or fear, or...?
With 97 firearms per 100 people, I doubt it is a lack of projectile probabilities. Mexico is tied with Aussies at 15 per 100.
It probably is fear. That seems to be the only thing that motivates the US to do anything.
After all, isn't that why you want to have firearms on you at all times? You're afraid of being caught in a firefight, correct?
Or is there some other psychological dysfunction that makes you crave the aroma of Charcoal, Saltpeter and Sulfur?
