Fewer Guns, Fewer Deaths: An Idea Everyone But the US Seems to Agree With

Most of the world is appalled that the United States resists pursuing what the president calls “common sense” regulations to curb mass shootings, explains Iain Overton of Action on Armed Violence for the Globe and Mail. A mass shooting in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub left 49 dead, and the suspect is reported to have scouted Disney World as a target. Most US voters and even gun owners support stronger background checks. US Congress, fearing the powerful gun lobby, has placed limits on research into gun violence. Florida prohibits physicians from discussing gun safety with parents. Gun-rights advocates suggest that more guns improve security, but statistics do not bear that out: Researchers may struggle to prove cause and effect, but nations that limit gun ownership experience fewer deaths. Overton urges the US to learn from responses to mass shootings in Britain, Australia and other countries and concludes, “The United States, with its constitutional right to own a gun, is the only country in the world where they have loosened, not tightened, gun laws after a massacre.” Florida touts tourism as its top industry, and loose laws on gun safety pose economic risks. – YaleGlobal