Crime and violence rates in the US are similar to those of other developed nations. Americans own more guns than citizens of many other developed countries. Nearly 40 percent of US households contain at least one gun, but that does not mean that household members know of guns in the home. Surprisingly, gun owners who had been trained in safe gun storage were less likely to store their guns unloaded and locked away, said Hemenway. Currently, any US citizen over the age of 21 who is not a convicted felon can apply for gun ownership.
Loopholes exist in secondary markets, however.
People can buy guns at trade shows, flea markets, and online without the same background checks that exist in gun shops. People who die under the age of 40 in the US are more likely to die of injuries than diseases, said Hemenway. Hemenway would like to see the creation of an agency that would regulate gun policy in the same way that a motor vehicle agency controls cars. Creating such an agency would not mean stopping people from owning guns, said Hemenway. But he hopes it would promote responsibility and answer questions about a public health problem that claims the lives of more than 30,000 US citizens every year.