Guns - Some truths

I live in Canada, and today's sickening events in Newton CT give us all pause to consider how we act towards one another.  There is understandably much discussion about gun control today, and no doubt it will grow hotter in the coming weeks.

The murder of children is perhaps the most heinous of human acts imaginable and while the 'tool' used was a gun, it's important to keep in mind that an individual did this.  Nonetheless the gun debate will rage on.  It's peppered with half-truths and exaggerations and I wanted to offer some data and suggest you form your own opinions.

I offer civilian gun data here for Canada and the US.  The countries compare nicely in many cultural ways, so the propensity to act have the same basic drivers you might imagine.

Canada - approx 32M population

•  9,950,000 guns owned in Canada, of which 1.1M are handguns according to 2007 data
•  That's 23.8 guns per 100 people, which ranks Canada at #12 worldwide
•  There were 594 homicides in 2007, of which 188 were gun related - 31.6%

The United States - Approx 302M population

•   270,000,000 guns owned in the US in 2007
•  That's 88.8 guns per 100 people, which places the US at #1 in the world.
•  There were 16,129 homicides in the US in 2007, of which 10,129 were gun related - 59.8%

What can we deduce ?

1. Gun ownership is approximately 3x as popular in the US, accounting for population
2. Homicides are also 3x more likely in the US - from all sources
3. Gun related homicides are 2x more likely in the US
4. With the higher percentage of homicides, and greater probability of it being gun related, you are 6x more likely to experience a gun related homicide in the US v Canada

The above aren't opinion.  They are statistics, and the conclusions drawn from these are fact.

What causes this 6X difference ?  In culturally comparable countries, is it the right to own guns (bear arms) or perhaps the greater access to tool when murderous impulse strikes..?  I don't know, but it does seems that a premeditated act as we saw today wasn't an act of passion, rather it had clear intent.  The role guns play in these two societies isn't a black and white issue, and won't survive attempts at a black and white solution.  

We cannot get lost in a gun control debate when looking to tackle the core issues here.  What happened is unforgivable and while the gun played a role we shouldn't overlook that there are more factors to be considered. At some point before 9:30am this morning, this sick person made what they thought was an acceptable plan for their day, empowered with their firearm.  And that is something we should really examine.