Did you know that in the United States, almost 100,000 people are shot or killed with a gun in one year? 10,527 people die a year in handgun related incidents in the United States. This number, by far, outweighs the number of gun related deaths in countries such as Sweden, Great Britain, Japan, and Germany which number 13, 22, 87, and 120 respectively (Agresti). What is the reason for such drastic differences in numbers? Sweden, Great Britain, and Japan are all countries that have stricter gun control laws than the U.S; mind you, these are just the number of deaths caused by handgun it doesn’t include the thousands of deaths caused by other types of firearms. In one year, around 30,000 Americans die in gun violence (MacInnes). If the US adopted stricter gun control laws, the number of deaths would drop accordingly.



The United States is the country with the most civilian owned firearms in the world (Agresti). Restricting access to fire arms will undoubtedly make any community safer. However taking away people’s firearms would cause too much anger and hatred towards the government; not to mention the task of confiscating 270,000 firearms (MacInnes). This is not the solution to our gun troubles. What I believe the United States could achieve is the German approach of solving this crisis. What Germany has done is removed all fully-automatic weapons of any sort, and all weapons designated for mass destruction such as the Rocket Propelled Grenade. In Germany all pistols are banned unless your job requires it, e.g. doctors that have drugs, and money transporters. The only types of guns that are legal are long rifles over 60 centimeters (20 inches). This allows hunting, but restricts homicide.
Many people argue that they have guns for protection; protection from the other people who carry guns. They defend their possession of guns saying they can use their guns to kill an intruder. They also argue that their guns are used to hunt and feed their families. Although these defenses may be true, a gun is 22 times more likely to be used in attempted suicide, criminal assault or homicide, or unintentional shooting death or injury than to be used in a self-defense shooting (Johnson).

After the Newtown shooting, gun-rights advocates were quick to point out that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” They are correct -- to an extent. A gun is no more dangerous than, say, a car is responsible in drunk driving fatalities; both are inanimate objects that, when left unused or used in certain contexts, don’t harm humans. But to say that “people kill people” also isn’t true. Just as a drunk individual without a car will likely be of no harm to society, Adam Lanza with no guns probably would have done little, if any, serious damage. One might then say, “People with guns kill people.” This, however, is overly broad. Just as sober and licensed adults behind the wheel of a car are not generally viewed as threats, responsible and mentally stable individuals who own and operate guns are relatively harmless. Of the millions of gun owners in the United States, only a small fraction uses their weapons to injure or kill others.
Many countries gaze at the United States of America and respect our country. People across the globe are jealous of our government and our freedoms. The country looked upon by millions shouldn’t have the 10th highest homicide rate per capita in the world; it shouldn’t be one torn over the controversy of saving lives. Our great nation, that people struggle to immigrate to, must live up to its expectations.