From: andrick@rhrk.uni-kl.de (Ulf Andrick)
Subject: Re: Guns, and the necessity to trust our governement.
Keywords: guns and fascism
Reply-To: andrick@rhrk.uni-kl.de (Ulf Andrick)
Organization: University of Kaiserslautern (Germany)
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 06:13:15 GMT

In article <1992Aug26.230720.11182@mtu.edu>, cescript@mtu.edu (Charles
Scripter) writes:
> In article <1992Aug23.010331.15464@microsoft.com>, marcmil@microsoft.com
> (Marc Milanini) writes:
> 
> > Whereas in the USA, you can buy M16s by reading ads in the newspapers.
> > We agree that European countries have less criminality than the USA.
> > As a matter of fact, thay also have harscher control on guns...
> 
> Ok, let's have a look (I'll only select a few, to save space):
> 
>                  H O M I C I D E
>                                   PER         ABSOLUTE
> RANK  COUNTRY                     100,000     NUMBERS
> ====  ==========================  =======     ========
>  11   United States                 9.60      18,155
>  18   Netherlands                   7.15         964
>  25   Finland                       4.88         229
>  27   West Germany                  4.47       2,771
                                                 ^^^^^
I know that number. It comprises about 1900 attempts, which means that
about 800 people were actually killed. I wonder what the quote of attempts 
is in the US. If people have access to guns and use them when they try to 
kill somebody, they might be more successful.

>  34   Sweden                        3.36         275
>  35   Austria                       3.06         229
>  36   Italy                         2.95       1,643
>  40   France                        2.70       1,429
>  45   England & Wales               2.24       1,102
>  46   Denmark                       2.03         102
>  59   Norway                        0.50          20
> 
> -------------------  R A P E  -----------------
>                                 PER         ABSOLUTE
> RANK  COUNTRY                   100,000     NUMBERS
> ====  ========================  =======     ========
>    2  West Germany              77.49       48,075
>    8  Netherlands               56.00        7,554
>    9  England & Wales           50.20       24,698
>   13  Scotland                  44.69        2,330
>   14  Denmark                   41.06        2,068
>   15  Sweden                    40.52        3,313
>   18  Austria                   30.42        2,274
>   22  United States             26.30       40,168
>   23  France                    26.19       13,828
>   28  Norway                    23.43          931
>   34  Italy                     11.87        6,605
>   39  Finland                    9.44          443
> 
> 
> Unfortunately, I don't have stats for assaults, and other violent crimes.
> It does look like Europe has a problem with rape.

These numbers are regrettable, especially for Germany. But I don't see
how rape is related to the subject of this thread, which is 
guns. (Guns are rarely used in rapes, at least in Germany.)

People in a state with restrictive arms control laws are not necessarily
less criminal than others, but the number of people killed is probably
lower when there are less firearms about. 

> Europe, as a whole,
> doesn't appear to fare so well if we start totaling things up...
> 
> Curiously, Switzerland was not even on the scale... (not in the top 60).
> It must be their well known lack of firearms is responsible...  ;-)

That Switzerland does not appear at all is rather strange. Such an extreme
difference to all of its neighbours seems a little incredible.

> 
> -- 
> Charles Scripter   *   cescript@phy.mtu.edu
> Dept of Physics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> With your one remaining eye, please do NOT look back into the laser



Ulf R. Andrick                                  andrick@rhrk.uni-kl.de

Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns