One of the most common accusations from anti-2A activists is that gun violence is, to a large extent, a uniquely American problem.
To be fair to these activists (something that I’m not sure that I’d get from them), there are more guns per capita in the U.S. than in any other country in the world. According to World Population Review, the U.S. has nearly double the number of firearms per capita than the next closest country, which is the Falkland Islands.
In 2017, the U.S. has 120.5 guns per 100 people, meaning that we have more guns than people. The Falkland Islands had 62.1 guns per 100 people.
Here’s the thing, with that many more guns, if guns were the problem, then wouldn’t the U.S. have proportionately more gun violence incidents than other countries with gun control in place? Yet, that’s not the case, especially when you remove Democrat run cities, which have gun control in place, from the U.S. statistics. Once you remove those cities from the mix, the rest of the U.S. is one of the safest countries in the world.
Yet, there are those who will continue to claim that gun violence such as school shootings are uniquely American.
They’re not.
And I have a tragic story from another country today to prove that point. Guy Birchall writes,
Nine people were killed in a shooting at a school in the city of Graz, Austria.
The suspect, who local police described as a 21-year-old Austrian man from the Graz-Umgebung district, also died in the attack.
Police said he used two legally owned weapons to carry out the shooting, before shooting himself in a restroom. State Police Director Gerald Ortner told a press conference that the suspect had no criminal record and that the weapons used were a long gun and a handgun.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told the same press conference that the suspect was a former student at the school who had failed to graduate, but declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.
He added that the victims comprised six females and three males—seven teenagers and two adults. Another 12 people sustained injuries.
No motive has yet been identified.
Look, I take no joy in sharing that story. I share it only to prove my point.
Anti-2A zealots need to stop pretending that violence, especially gun violence, is an America-only issue. It’s not. Not even remotely.
It’s an issue of the human heart, and that’s why people with pure and good motives who are trained with firearms and carrying daily are necessary to counteract those who want to hurt other people.
Gun control hasn’t prevented mass shootings in Europe. We all know that. Let’s start demanding that anti-2A activists start being honest about it.
