quote:
Simple hypothesis: the greater availability of firearms in a community increases the rate of firearms homicides.
While I would agree with the above (bloody obvious covers it
for me) I don't think tighter gun control will have much impact.
In the UK gun crime is on the increase (and quite rapidly
so), and yet the controls in the UK are much stricter than
Australia (I think). The only waepons that can be legally owned
in the UK are smooth-bore firearms such as shot-guns, but most
gun crime is committed with unlicensed, side arms and sub-machine pistols.
Availability is clearly increasing, but not because of a relaxation
of gun controls ... quite the reverse, the UK tightened its gun
laws a few years ago in response to a shooting incident in a school
(which was perpetrated using unlicensed weapons anyhow).
I don't think there is any simple answer to the question, it's the
underlying social problems and criminal 'gangs' that need to
be addressed I feel.
That said, I am sure that if a hot-tempered individual had
a .38 in their bedside drawer they might grab it in a temper
and would be more likely to inflict a mortal wound with that than,
say, a punch or a thrown plate. Even in that situation, the
act of going for the gun, releasing the safety, etc. gives
a certain amount of cooling period for a lot of people ...
and by all accounts (I have friends in both the military and
armed response units) it's not that easy to pull the trigger
when you come right down to it.