Gun Control in the U.S.: What It Really Means

This past Tuesday, States United To Prevent Gun Violence, a group of gun-control activists, set up a fake gun store in an attempt to show potential buyers the true dangers of guns. The facts made potential buyers think twice about buying a gun, and perhaps changed some minds about gun control in the United States. “It made me actually think, ‘I’m not going to buy that gun,'” said one customer after the true purpose of the fake gun store was revealed. Some would say these gun control activists took things a bit too far, but their intentions were true. Perhaps the United States should think a little more about our laws regarding gun control and what allowing civilians to carry guns truly means for the safety of our country. 

According to FBA data, "410 Americans were 'justifiably killed'" by police in 2012. 409 commited by guns. In the same year in Britain, police shot total of three times. In fact, with the exception of Northern Irelanhd, police only carry firearms in the United Kingdom under special circumstances. Why are these numbers so drastically different? Perhaps in part because of the difference in gun control laws in the United States and the United Kingdom. 

In the United States, more than a third of the population reports that either they or someone in their household owns a gun. In contrast, only about 6.7 percent of people in the United Kingdom own firearms. This means that the police force in the United States is under a much higher risk of facing civilians with guns, and therefore potentially having to shoot in self defense. The police force in the United Kingdom does not come in contact with nearly as many civilians with guns and shootings, and therefore have to shoot at civilians much less often. It seems to me that perhaps letting the American civilian population own guns is not really protecting them, it is backfiring. 

How would the statistics be different if gun control laws changed in the United States? What do gun control laws really mean to the American civilian population?