Is the murder rate in Canada still much lower than the US? I remember it was from that Michael Moore documentary back in the day (Bowling for Columbine). Admittedly, I don't know how many guns per head of the population comparing the two. — RolandTyme
Also, is the murder rate uniform over the US? It's a humongous country. — RolandTyme
Add to gun "laws." Culture, ignorance, failure of education, and racism. — tim wood
Believe it or not, but I live in the US among many gun fanatics, and I have never known a person who was murdered. We can divide cultures and societies in many arbitrary ways. One of those are by political systems, which the OP does, by asking why things are the way they are in the US as a whole. If you divided it in other ways , as in those who I associate with, the murder rate is zero.
The question then is why is the murder rate where I reside is as low as Sweden's, but not too far from me, it's very different, despite the fact that we live in the same country under the same laws? I'm not the first to point out that there are two Americas, but it's probably like 5 or 6 or maybe more.
Don't misread anything I've said here to be some fucked up comment about violence being caused by race. It's not. My comments relate to class and the causes of the classist system. — Hanover
San Diego, El Paso, San Jose, Austin, Virginia Beach, and New York City don't have a significantly higher murder rate than London (the highest of these, New York, has almost double that of London). But Detroit, and New Orleans, have about 22 times the murder rate of London, and Baltimore 31. — Down The Rabbit Hole
The gun laws are the same, or essentially the same, throughout the United States? — Down The Rabbit Hole
The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose. — James Baldwin
Also, is the murder rate uniform over the US? It's a humongous country. — RolandTyme
About 40% of Americans say they or someone in their household owns a gun, and 22% of individuals (about 72 million people) report owning a gun, according to surveys from Pew and Harvard and Northeastern. This figure has declined over time, down from 51% of gun-owning households in 1978. Gun purchases, however, have hit historic highs in recent years and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You don't think the difference in distribution of wealth significantly contributes to the difference in murder rates? — Down The Rabbit Hole
The gun laws are the same, or essentially the same, throughout the United States? — Down The Rabbit Hole
There are those within my state and my county that have had drastically different experiences though. — Hanover
And it's not that I live in walled community or among the rich and famous. I live in middle class suburban Atlanta. — Hanover
I'd say - the stats for Atlanta show 20.2 murders per 100,000 people (more than 12 times that of London). Guns were used in 82% of the homicides. — Down The Rabbit Hole
If you wanna know, murder rates may not give the complete picture because it counts only completed killings i.e. there's a dead person, a body count.
Why not look at attempted murder rates? I'm sure all countries are more or less the same on that score. Access to lethal weapons means the fatality rates are higher, exactly what the data in the OP reflects. — Agent Smith
It may surprise some, but a majority of Americans do not own guns.
About 40% of Americans say they or someone in their household owns a gun, and 22% of individuals (about 72 million people) report owning a gun, according to surveys from Pew and Harvard and Northeastern. This figure has declined over time, down from 51% of gun-owning households in 1978. Gun purchases, however, have hit historic highs in recent years and during the COVID-19 pandemic. — Bitter Crank
Compare Chicago's or New Orleans murder rate to other cities or places.Also, is the murder rate uniform over the US? It's a humongous country. — RolandTyme
And yet no one I know has ever known a person who was murdered, much less who was shot. What do you make of that? 55 years in this crime ridden city, and never even been pickpocketed. — Hanover
My view is that there are far too many guns of all kinds in the USA. However, they are here now -- at least 1 per person, averaging out the total supply, and there isn't any acceptable way to round them up. — Bitter Crank
What do you think outlawing guns (like the UK does) would do to the US murder rate? — Down The Rabbit Hole
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