US 'most armed' nation on Earth

[Nottingham]

US 'most armed' nation on Earth
From correspondents in the United Nations
July 9, 2003

THE United States is the most heavily-armed nation on Earth, with nearly one gun per person, according to a study released today at a UN conference on small arms.

The Small Arms Survey 2003 by the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva found an estimated 238 million to 276 million private firearms in the United States, or roughly 83 to 96 guns per 100 people.

In comparison, there were 84 million firearms in the 15 countries of the European Union, 80 per cent in private hands.

more.....

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=759a73ec31ef74e3

We are one Scary Nation! :bounce:

[Maple]

1. I don't mind Americans

having guns, and as many as they want.

It's the 'wild west' attitude that's scary.

I know an American couple...and he bought her a 357 magnum for Xmas...so she could have protection going to the grocery store.

Now when you've got to go 'armed' to a frickin' grocery store....well, I'm glad I live in Canada.

We have millions of guns. But I've never needed one for anything other than duck hunting.

[Nottingham]

2. Maple it has gotten way out of hand! But lets face it We are SCARED

So scared we think we need protection from everything!

:bounce:

[Maple]

5. Well judging by the events of today

I can see why...but jeepers, the wild west has been gone for over a century....what is all this 'shoot out at the OK corral' stuff?

Every traffic goof, or long lineup, or bad grade, or someone's snarky remark and it's 'pistols at dawn' or worse!

[Moosenose]

18. well....Florida's had CCW for a couple of decades...

and gunfights over parking spaces haven't happened yet...

[BiggJawn]

4. Naw, it's our "Culture of Fear"

What other explanation could there be for thinking you need to "be strapped" to go get Lotto tickets and Ciggys?

We're scared down here. The BFEE and LIHOP has made damn sure of that. and it works to their advantage. All Tommy Timber-toes has to do is go "BOO! YELLOW ALERT!" and we're pissing ourselves, crying to Calico Johnnie Arschloch to take some MORE of our Rights away from us to keep us safe, BEGGING Rumsferatu to drop bombs on more people so we can feel "Brave"...

Then we go out and buy more guns to guard against those Al-Queeda scuba divers coming up through our toilets...

[alarimer]

21. I agree

I agree that there are too many guns, too readily available. But you will get flamed when the gun Nazis get on here. I believe in serious gun control, banning certain types of firearms and ammunition but that is sort of the third rail in politics because of the gun Nazis. Even the rational ones. The stupid fucking rednecks who feel you have to take guns to the goddamn grocery story. fucking idiots. The problem with this country is that there are too many idiot rednecks. I think a person who owns a lot of guns is compensating for, um, personal inadequacies, if you know what I mean. The media has always exaggerrated (I can never spell that workd right!) the risk pf violent crime. The situations in which a person would need to defend themselves are really rather rare.

[reprobate]

24. a person who owns a lot of guns is compensating

alarimer, that's a facile arguement, and doesn't go to the basic violence of the american society from the colonization to the present.

Look at the difference in the reactions of the US and canada in the 18th century. Geographicly contiguous, and from the same political base, we decided to kill while the canadians talked their problems out. I don't know what it is, or was, about the american psyche that seems to predispose us to violence, but it's making us a rogue nation to the rest of the world. Only a violent nation would have accepted the * war mongering.

As a gun owner myself, from a young age to the present, I would question your 'inadequacies' statement. As a forment LEO, I believe I have the training and experience to keep weapons safely. Some of us love the challange of punching little holes in paper targets. Aside from that my weapons have stayed behind lock and key.

[slackmaster]

26. To paraphrase Sigmund Freud and Group Captain Lionel Mandrake

Sometimes a gun collection is just a gun collection.

I consider mine to be literally a component of my retirement plan. They appreciate in value, they interest me for technical reasons, and there is nothing wrong with my fluids, Jack.

[jody]

29. "A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity"

- Sigmund Freud, "General Introduction to Psychoanalysis"

[WindRavenX]

9. Yup, it's all in attitude

Bush has the arrogant, "We're the USA and we do whatever the hell we want" attitude that pisses everyone off. I think the fact that we have enough nuclear weapons to wipe this planet clean of human life several times over is a scary and sad fact on it's own, but the attitude behind that is what makes it so much more terrible and worse.
And the missle defense shield? A total joke. And we have the balls to say "oh, and by the way, none of ya'all can have one either". Bush thinks he's a god given gift to the world, and it's up to him to arm America to the teeth with new, smaller nuclear weapons and foolish, expensive missle shields.
Everytime I see his smirk when he tries to justify all this, I just want to scream.

[Nambe]

3. Gun owners are 5.2 times more likely to get shot.

Got that from Bradey last month. I carry a mean zapper in my bag when I jog or cycle. If it gets taken away from me, I'll probably survive.

[Zero Gravitas]

6. Also

All those guns did not prevent the Dec 12 Coup. They did not prevent the PAtriot Act eroding civil liberties. Having the most widespread gun ownership has not meant that we have the lowest violent crime rate in the world. And all those guns have not ensured an independent media which is essential for a truly free and open democracy.

[Muddleoftheroad]

8. Lies, damn lies et al

I'd love to see the cite on that stat so it can be ripped apart. Don't you suppose that people who buy guns might actually need them in many cases?

[LauraK]

10. I have lived in two countries where handguns are prohibited.

Life is better that way. Reality speaks for itself. That statistic is on Brady's web site, but you'll have to argue with yourself.

[NickB79]

11. Since when

Is Brady a reliable and unbiased source? Its statistics just as biased as the NRA's statistics, but I haven't seen a single person cite an NRA statistic yet that claims people who use guns are safer (not that I couldn't, but I don't feel it would contribute anything to this discussion).

[Aaron]

12. Aren't we more violent than other nations even excluding all US gun crime?

Maybe I'm wrong but I could swear I read that somewhere. Per capita even with all firearms crime removed we've got more violent crime than any other nation - by a significant margin. Maybe I'm mistaken but I hope someone else can confirm/deny this. It's not so much a gun problem, but a general violence problem IIRC.

[ze_dscherman]

14. Not really

According to the statistics I have recently seen, there are some countries with more violence, e.g. Colombia and Russia.

[slackmaster]

16. Brazil is a lot more violent than the US

And so is New Jersey.

On Real TV I saw clips of two moms beating the crap out of their adult sons for getting caught dealing drugs. They were living in a nightmare slum in Rio.

[Moosenose]

20. we're more violent...

than EUROPEAN nations with tight gun-control laws. The same is true of Industrialized nations.

[Aaron]

27. Thanks Moosenoose - I was sure there was something

I just couldn't remember exactly what the statistic was for. TY :)

[saigon68]

28. SO DID THE INMATES IN THE WARSAW GHETTO

Read Mila 18-- It converted me. If only the police and Army have guns you will be nothing more than a SLAVE.

When they finally got a few guns---- they showed the world they wouldn't die like cattle.

[ze_dscherman]

13. May actually need them in 238 million cases?

So Rumsfeld was probably telling the truth when he said Iraq was not more dangerous than Washington, D.C.

[slackmaster]

15. Be careful with that zapper

I heard that zapper owners are 5.2 times more likely to get zapped.

[Moosenose]

19. ummm....doesn't that count SUICIDES?

eom

[jody]

30. I see you're spreading lies for Republican Scary Brady. DoJ says

DoJ says "A fifth of the victims defending themselves with a firearm suffered an injury, compared to almost half of those who defended themselves with weapons other than a firearm or who had no weapon." Guns and Crime: Handgun Victimization, Firearm Self-Defense, and Firearm Theft

In 2001, victims defended themselves in over 4 million crimes of violence. Only 6.8% said their efforts made the situation worst. Self-protective measures employed by victims

The government is not obligated to protect an individual, then defense against criminals is a personal problem. Law enforcement and civilians both choose handguns as the best means of defending themselves. If you choose not to keep and bear arms, that's your decision, but you effort to deny others the means to protect themself is not democratic, it's totalitarian.

[fshrink]

7. Also the fattest on earth.

I'm also wondering whether it's not the nation that has the largest number of churches worldwide.

[slackmaster]

17. Largest number of churches per capita?

Probably Mexico.

[fshrink]

23. They have mainly one creed (Catholic) though, no?

nt

[slackmaster]

25. Correct

n/t

[bushisanidiot]

22. Most armed, Richest, Uses the most natural resources,

kills more people in the death chamber... Yeah, they hate us for our 'freedom'.. our freedom to be assholes.

[blindpig]

31. history, read it and weep

There is no chance of handguns, much less all firearms, being banned in this country. Our ugly history & the distorted myths derived thereof plus the sheer numbers of weapons assure that. Only education and a great change of the national psyche could make a handgun-free society possible.
People own firearms for all kinds of reasons, some reasonable, some bogus. I've worked in buisnesses that sell firearms for the past 15yrs and have somewhat adjusted the opinions that I brought south with me. Some examples:
When SC adopted a carry/conceal law I was sure we'd have a wild west scene of barroom shootouts etc. I was dead wrong. SLED has apparently done a fine job screening out dipshits.
On the other hand you don't hear about armed citizens stopping crimes either, as some proponents predicted. Just as well.
There's lot of older folks who couldn't sleep at night without a firearm at the ready, both in rural and urban situations. Their greatest fear is home invasion. I strongly suspect that the fact that people in a house/apartment may be armed dissuades a lot of this kind of crime.
There's a lot of slob hunters who reflect badly on hunters as a whole and need to have their privledges revoked.Ethical hunting conducted on sound biological data is not a bad thing.
The militias and gunnuts are paranoid libertarians and racistwhose purpose for being is bogus. Did the peoples of the Soviet Empire overthrow those nasty ol' commies with guns?
Enough already
Kucinick 04'

[saigon68]

32. See POST 28 above

N/T