Referring back to my earlier post ‘TikTok Gun Debates‘, I thought it might be wise to instruct Street Hawk further, given their dogged ignorance of facts and logic. He has tried to suggest that knives are an equivalent threat, similar to guns in terms of the danger they pose, and that more guns would equate to greater safety. Street Hawk’s misguided one-off example does not extrapolate into a coherent strategy. The numbers speak for themselves:
The UK’s stabbing death rate per 100,000 people is 0.08, and the gun death rate is 0.04.
The USA’s stabbing death rate is 0.6, and the gun death rate is 4.12.
So, in other words, a lot more people are dying from gun-related violence in the USA than they do from knife-related violence in the UK. Guns are clearly not proving to be a deterrent, and they contribute more readily to tragic accidents and suicides.
There is more to compare. If guns make a location substantially safer, how is it that Japan, which is virtually a gun-free zone, is one of the safest countries on earth? From the above link:
Japan’s murder rate is 0.25 murders per every 100,000 people, whilst the USA murder rate – of which 77% involves firearms – is 6.52 per 100,000 people. In percentage terms, that’s a difference of 2,508 percent! Japan’s murder rate is only 3.8 percent that of the USA’s!
These are staggering differences, which underscore how the widespread presence of guns does not make a location safer. Those proclaiming this falsehood – like Street Hawk – ought to look at facts, instead of spreading deceit.
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Your ‘correspondent’ has also failed to bring out one very pertinent point.
The UK principal victims or targets are males under 25, (approx 30%) (some records indicate 34 as the top age) .The results of tit for tat gang or turf war (or Post Code warfare as it is sometimes known).
Thus whereas there are cases within the parameter of Domestic Violence, Neighbour disputes, Terrorist and Mental Health (the latter two being blurred), in the UK we are facing a distinct social problem in a specific part of the population.
Also what he is rather reticent in mentioning is that we do not have a pressure group going around campaigning that it is the right of everyone to carry a knife.
In fact attempts to control the selling of knives is such that you cannot casually pick up and buy a kitchen knife in a main retail store, some will be locked until a member of staff comes along, looks at you and decides you are old enough to buy one; that also happens at the check out.
And if you happen to be walking along with a said knife, screwdriver or such like in your pocket and this comes to the attention of the police, irrespective of your age you might get off with a stern warning. If you were careless enough to argue it was for your own defence then in the common words of the officers of an old UK BBC series ‘The Bill’ (nickname for The Police) ‘You’re nicked mate!’
He’s flimflamming in desperation and you can tell him a UK citizen said so (or ‘You’re nicked mate! )
All the best. Keep up your good work
Roger
UK