With all the agitation for gun control to reduce violence in the US, a key point is missed. Over a quarter of US homicides occur by means other than firearms. Even if all gun-related murders are eliminated, the US still has a higher homicide rate than many other countries.
Guns are not the only means of committing murder
I don’t want to imply that guns should not be used more responsibly. Whether by tighter control (licensing, insuring, etc.) or reduction of firearms per see, something(s) should be done. But my point is that Americans are still a murderous lot even if none of the deaths attributed to guns occurred. And some of the murders by gun might occur by other means if no guns were available.
This post is motivated by a graphic on Reddit:
The best and the worst countries
The following is from World Population Review:
Eight of the ten best countries are in Europe or Asia. Seven of the ten worst countries are in Central America or the Caribbean.
Countries with similar murder rates to the US
According to the World Population Review, the US had a murder rate of 4.96 per 100K population in 2018. This is just worse than Kenya (4.93) and better than Cuba (5.05) and Khazakstan (5.06).
Countries with lower murder rates than the US
Many countries have much lower murder rates than the US. Our neighbor Canada has a total homicide rate of 1.74 per 100K. That is 35% of the US rate. It is also only 45 per 100K above the US rate from means other than firearms (1.29). But many countries have a total murder rate less than the portion of the US rate without guns.
Not included in the table above are the three largest countries in South Asia. The rates there are low compared to the US: Pakistan, 3.88; India, 3.08; and Indonesia, 0.43.
Countries with higher murder rates than the US
High murder rates exist around the world. For example: South Africa (36.40), Russia (8.21), Afghanistan (6.66), Philippines (6.46), and Ukraine (6.18). But perhaps the most murderous part of the world is the western hemisphere – with the exception of Martinique (2.77), Aruba (1.96), and Canada (1.76). The three other most populous countries besides the US have high murder rates, two very high. The rate in Argentina is 5.32 per 100K, while Brazil (27.38) and Mexico (29.07) are much higher.
Conclusion
While gun control in one of its many forms could arguably lower the US homicide rate, we still have the American people. As this post shows, Americans are far more homicidal than people in many other advanced countries. So guns may be a problem but they are not the only ones.
General reference: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country
Anger, rage and frustration fuel murder. Gun restrictions “treat” the expression not the cause of these murderous impulses. Most of the guns used to kill people will still be available one way or another to those who are intent on killing someone. Simple bombs are easy to assemble.
The primary reason why my wife and I got our CCW permits. Bring on the Bitches!!!