17/04/2007 10:19:37 pm
Strict Gun Control - More Shootings? The tragic shooting at Virginia Tech is of course all over the news. And the thought preoccuping most people′s minds right now is how to make such events more unlikely in the future. Intuitively, one might think that there needs to be stricter laws against carrying weapons. This is definitely the conclusion in European debate.

Research, however, shows another picture. One study looked at all the multiple-victim public shootings in the US between 1977 and 1999. It concluded that such attacks decreased by 60 per cent in US states that passed laws making it easier to carry guns. The simple reason might be that criminals always have guns, but they hesitate to use them if it is likely that people can defend themselves with guns too.

Personally, I don′t like the idea of a society where everyone is armed. But one has to look at reality as it is when searching for solutions that can save lives.

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