US does not have a gun problem
The facts in a recent letter about the Second Amendment were grossly incorrect. The real discussion should be about murder statistics. According to World Health Organization statistics, 109 countries have higher per capita murder rates than the United States. It is illegal to own a gun in all of those countries. Only the criminals have guns and they aren’t afraid to use them.
In the United States, those states with the highest percentage of gun ownership, such as Texas, have the lowest per capita murder rates. Since Australia outlawed ownership of guns, the murder rate has gone up. Some ot the strongest supporters of a gun-free Australia are now questioning their position.
Switzerland requires every citizen to own a gun and be proficient in using it. They have no murders. Guns don’t cause murders; people do.
If 10 large cities, such as Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia, are removed from the statistics, the United States has one of the lowest per capita murder rates in the world. We would be on par with Scandinavia and other low-murder-rate European countries.
Our so-called gun problem is caused by mental health issues and the collapse of families in the inner cities. Let’s all get active working on those problems — not trying to take guns away from law-abiding citizens.
Barry Moore
Hilton Head Island
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This story was originally published December 11, 2017 at 11:11 AM with the headline "US does not have a gun problem."