There is also Finland, which has around 34 guns per 100 inhabitants, amongst the highest of the western world.
It has a cun culture of defense (against its untrustworthy Russian neighbor), hunting and sports.
But there is strict registration and regulation. Though they can buy just about any type of gun, there is no open carry “for funsies”.
Carrying/transporting the guns requires an immediate purpose and must be held, unloaded, in a case or pouch.
(I am not Finnish so correct me if I am wrong)
I have a bit of a feeling it’s in the US a thing of “He has a gun, so I want a gun” that reinforces itself, and after a while gets people careless since it’s a fairly common thing.
In the UK there was a study where forbidding handheld guns, mainly pistols, did see a sharp decline in gun related crime but they did not banish it completely.
I don’t know the numbers but in the US it seems pistols make it easier to act upon one’s mental state … have a tiff with your neighbor? Go to his door with a gun on your belt. A car just cut you off? Explode in rage, pull up next to him/her on a traffic light and swing your pistol around, try doing that with a non automatic hunting rifle.
There is also Finland, which has around 34 guns per 100 inhabitants, amongst the highest of the western world. It has a cun culture of defense (against its untrustworthy Russian neighbor), hunting and sports. But there is strict registration and regulation. Though they can buy just about any type of gun, there is no open carry “for funsies”. Carrying/transporting the guns requires an immediate purpose and must be held, unloaded, in a case or pouch. (I am not Finnish so correct me if I am wrong)
I have a bit of a feeling it’s in the US a thing of “He has a gun, so I want a gun” that reinforces itself, and after a while gets people careless since it’s a fairly common thing.
In the UK there was a study where forbidding handheld guns, mainly pistols, did see a sharp decline in gun related crime but they did not banish it completely.
I don’t know the numbers but in the US it seems pistols make it easier to act upon one’s mental state … have a tiff with your neighbor? Go to his door with a gun on your belt. A car just cut you off? Explode in rage, pull up next to him/her on a traffic light and swing your pistol around, try doing that with a non automatic hunting rifle.