[trueblue1776]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070828/us_nm/world_firearms_dc;_ylt=AmXHPCpitD8lR22bLgekI5Ks0NUE

U.S. most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people

By Laura MacInnis 1 hour, 19 minutes ago

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released on Tuesday said.

U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies.

About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States, it said.

"There is roughly one firearm for every seven people worldwide. Without the United States, though, this drops to about one firearm per 10 people," it said.

India had the world's second-largest civilian gun arsenal, with an estimated 46 million firearms outside law enforcement and the military, though this represented just four guns per 100 people there. China, ranked third with 40 million privately held guns, had 3 firearms per 100 people.

Germany, France, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil and Russia were next in the ranking of country's overall civilian gun arsenals.

On a per-capita basis, Yemen had the second most heavily armed citizenry behind the United States, with 61 guns per 100 people, followed by Finland with 56, Switzerland with 46, Iraq with 39 and Serbia with 38.

France, Canada, Sweden, Austria and Germany were next, each with about 30 guns per 100 people, while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower. Nigeria, for instance, had just one gun per 100 people.

"Firearms are very unevenly distributed around the world. The image we have of certain regions such as Africa or Latin America being awash with weapons -- these images are certainly misleading," Small Arms Survey director Keith Krause said.

"Weapons ownership may be correlated with rising levels of wealth, and that means we need to think about future demand in parts of the world where economic growth is giving people larger disposable income," he told a Geneva news conference.

The report, which relied on government data, surveys and media reports to estimate the size of world arsenals, estimated there were 650 million civilian firearms worldwide, and 225 million held by law enforcement and military forces.

Five years ago, the Small Arms Survey had estimated there were a total of just 640 million firearms globally.

"Civilian holdings of weapons worldwide are much larger than we previously believed," Krause said, attributing the increase largely to better research and more data on weapon distribution networks.

Only about 12 percent of civilian weapons are thought to be registered with authorities.

[quatin]

An interesting survey of civilian arms ownership throughout the world. Also, I'd like to point out that it references something that counters a popular myth. That China bans civilian arms ownership.



GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released on Tuesday said.
ADVERTISEMENT

U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies.

About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States, it said.

"There is roughly one firearm for every seven people worldwide. Without the United States, though, this drops to about one firearm per 10 people," it said.

India had the world's second-largest civilian gun arsenal, with an estimated 46 million firearms outside law enforcement and the military, though this represented just four guns per 100 people there. China, ranked third with 40 million privately held guns, had 3 firearms per 100 people.

Germany, France, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil and Russia were next in the ranking of country's overall civilian gun arsenals.

On a per-capita basis, Yemen had the second most heavily armed citizenry behind the United States, with 61 guns per 100 people, followed by Finland with 56, Switzerland with 46, Iraq with 39 and Serbia with 38.

France, Canada, Sweden, Austria and Germany were next, each with about 30 guns per 100 people, while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower. Nigeria, for instance, had just one gun per 100 people.

"Firearms are very unevenly distributed around the world. The image we have of certain regions such as Africa or Latin America being awash with weapons -- these images are certainly misleading," Small Arms Survey director Keith Krause said.

"Weapons ownership may be correlated with rising levels of wealth, and that means we need to think about future demand in parts of the world where economic growth is giving people larger disposable income," he told a Geneva news conference.

The report, which relied on government data, surveys and media reports to estimate the size of world arsenals, estimated there were 650 million civilian firearms worldwide, and 225 million held by law enforcement and military forces.

Five years ago, the Small Arms Survey had estimated there were a total of just 640 million firearms globally.

"Civilian holdings of weapons worldwide are much larger than we previously believed," Krause said, attributing the increase largely to better research and more data on weapon distribution networks.

Only about 12 percent of civilian weapons are thought to be registered with authorities.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070828/us_nm/world_firearms_dc;_ylt=ArfCb2bX24O063n5EUuuuGWs0NUE

[GigaBuist]

Sounds like we need to get another 27 million firearms to bring the ratio up to 1:1.

I'm doing my part. :)

[silverlance]

the reason why murder is rampant in the war-torn african nations is because only 1 person out of every 100 has a tool with which to defend themselves.

[JamesM]

while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower

who would have thought that an armed minority of people would try to take advantage of an unarmed majority?

[El Tejon]

Alright, O.K., who are the slackers here? Let me see your hands if you own fewer than 61 firearms.:scrutiny: *writes names down*

Ummm, you lazy bones, get to work buying those guns. Let's get that ratio over 1:1 next year. Buy 'em cheap and stack them deep.

[matt87]

If only 12% of civilean weapons are registered, where is he getting his information from? His A_ _ _. I'll let you fill in the blanks.

[fletcher]

Germany, France, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil and Russia were next in the ranking of country's overall civilian gun arsenals.


???

All I hear about Mexico is how nobody can own anything but a .22 or you head to the slammer. Is that true?

[lacoochee]

"Firearms are very unevenly distributed around the world. The image we have of certain regions such as Africa or Latin America being awash with weapons -- these images are certainly misleading," Small Arms Survey director Keith Krause said.

What Keith doesn't say here is that the reason these areas are seen as awash with guns is because so many civilians are massacred by them. But who owns the guns in these countries? Oh, that's right, what passes for the government in these places...

I do have a question, the report has China as having a large number of weapons in civilian hands, not on a per capita basis but on a purely numbers basis, I wonder who is included in that 40 million? If had to guess they are including police officers as civilians (they are but that is another debate)...
Does anyone know?

[Noxx]

Well, if this doesn't merit a beer I don't know what does. WooT.

[CWL]

All I hear about Mexico is how nobody can own anything but a .22 or you head to the slammer. Is that true?

Mexico's gun laws don't allow civilians to own guns in military calibers (9mm para., .45ACP, etc.) This is why the .38 super is very popular as a semi cartridge there. This law is very similiar to many other countries.

[Jorg]

If only 12% of civilean weapons are registered, where is he getting his information from? His A_ _ _. I'll let you fill in the blanks.

The most of the US doesn't have gun registration. However, gun makers do report the numbers of guns they make. If they make a million guns for the civillian market a year and only 120,000 are registered in New York, California, Chicago,and other places that require registration of handguns/"assault weapons"/all guns, then one can easily say that 12% are registered. This example isn't correct, obviously, because he's also including countries with mandatory gun registration. So if Acme Gun Maker makes 1.5 million guns and sends 150,000 to Canada and the rest are sold in the US, there's 10% registered right there. As far as determining the number of guns already out there, they just sample the population.

[Hoppy590]

while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower. Nigeria, for instance, had just one gun per 100 people.

yes, because when guns are not available criminals find other means. bats, machettes ETC.

[Nolo]

Excellent. I still think we need more guns, but this is good news. The idea that guns automatically and instantly turn whoever owns them into crazed, government-despising psychopaths needs to be put down. This "One Ring" fallacy is just wrong, and hopefully the fact that one of the most stable countries in the world is also one of the most firearm-populated will help to dispell it.

[quatin]

I do have a question, the report has China as having a large number of weapons in civilian hands, not on a per capita basis but on a purely numbers basis, I wonder who is included in that 40 million? If had to guess they are including police officers as civilians (they are but that is another debate)...
Does anyone know?

The guns that cops are issued aren't civilian owned guns. They're government guns. At least that would make the most amount of sense.

[Bazooka Joe71]

Ummm, you lazy bones, get to work buying those guns. Let's get that ratio over 1:1 next year. Buy 'em cheap and stack them deep.


El Tejon, feel free to buy me some guns and get my number up higher. I'll even drive to Indy and pick them up.:D

I'm trying to do my part as well, unfortunately my latest purchase was from another owner, so the ratio stayed the same.

[stevelyn]

90 guns per 100 people in the US...........



The question is....................................


























































How do we arm the other 10?:D




I love "Lord of War".

[flynlr]

so according to my math "3rd grade" I have 10 peoples guns. okay you 9 slackers get with it!

[grasssnake]

If guns are evil, then we have much evil in this country for which people are not at all responsible. Our mothers did not love us. The town bully was mean to me.

[lee n. field]

Only about 12 percent of civilian weapons are thought to be registered with authorities.

Good news if true. Most likely a guestimate.

I'm doing my part.

I'm pulling the weight of 10 or so people around me.

[Nil]

Hm... looks like I'll need to pick up a few more to even it all out.

[W.E.G.]

So many guns, so little ammo.

[strat81]

Anyone else thinking of Homer Simpson chanting "USA! USA!"?

I love this country.

[Big Calhoun]

I think the Iraq numbers are a little undereported. :D

I'll be adding another one to the collection this weekend. Since we had a baby recently, only one new addition for this year unless I can convince the wife to let me get a shotgun as my X-mas present to myself. We might have to do a 1:1 trade....I get a shotgun, she gets another pair of earrings.

This gun stuff is expensive in more ways than one. :p

[jlbraun]

Vote it up at reddit.com. 500,000 liberals read this site.

reddit.com/info/2jhsr/comments

[AndyC]

Anyone else thinking of Homer Simpson chanting "USA! USA!"?

I love this country.
You're fine folk, and that's a fact :D

[SoCalShooter]

Sounds like we need to get another 27 million firearms to bring the ratio up to 1:1.


damn straight. Sounds like a group buy needs to happen around here. I am proud to know we are on top of the world in firearms ownership. Now the question is how to get thos other 10 people armed.

I currently own 15 firearms. I think by the end of the year I might have another 5 or so.

After reading this and hoping all the stats are true and correct I am giddy with joy.

[Ohio Rifleman]

Awesome! We are the most heavily armed society on Earth...yet there are other countries with fewer civilian guns, but much, much higher rates of murder and violent crime. Hmmmm...

I need to buy more actual new guns to do my part. All I own are milsurps except for my 10/22.

[Bazooka Joe71]

Vote it up at reddit.com. 500,000 liberals read this site.

http://reddit.com/info/2jhsr/comments


I haven't gone to it yet, but if it requires gunnies voting for the cause, you need to copy the link and paste it in a new IE window, because they can see that it was a link from a gun website.;)

[30 cal slob]

Alright, O.K., who are the slackers here? Let me see your hands if you own fewer than 61 firearms. *writes names down*

Ummm, you lazy bones, get to work buying those guns. Let's get that ratio over 1:1 next year. Buy 'em cheap and stack them deep.

I'm pulling MY weight ET. :neener:

[Geronimo45]

We are the most heavily armed society on Earth...yet there are other countries with fewer civilian guns, but much, much higher rates of murder and violent crime. Hmmmm...
It'd be interesting to compare the guns per capita in a country to the number of gun crimes that country has. The US and it's 'high' gun crime rate might be seen in a different light.

[fletcher]

It'd be interesting to compare the guns per capita in a country to the number of gun crimes that country has. The US and it's 'high' gun crime rate might be seen in a different light.

That's sort of what the recent study from the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy does. (http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf)

More info. (http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/freedomline/current/in_our_opinion/Gun-Ownership.htm)

[ky_man]

Somebody should "digg" this story too.

http://digg.com

[littlegator]

Aftermarket and blackmarket sales in third world countries? Statistics are only as reliable as the vacuum they are produced in.

[romma]

Okay, maybe we have enough guns, or close anyways... What we need though is more readily disposable ammo for cheaper to ward off the totalitarian world that is closing in around us!!! (Not Kidding)


My tin foil hat needs adjusting I guess.

[ozwyn]

At this time I would like to formally apologize to the rest of THR crew. I have been slacking on gun ownership and thusly must take some of the blame for the less than 1:1 ratio.

[igor]

And Finland still qualifies for the podium!

BTW, the Yemeni Office on Interior has another take on the amount of guns the Yemenis have. Bite this:

Yemen's interior ministry estimates there are about 60 million firearms in Yemen, or about three for every citizen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1775938.stm

[MrPeter]

If only 12% of civilean weapons are registered, where is he getting his information from? His A_ _ _. I'll let you fill in the blanks.
...His Aunt?
:evil:

[damien]

Alright, O.K., who are the slackers here? Let me see your hands if you own fewer than 61 firearms.

Not me. > 61. But I will be buying more anyway.

[Bazooka Joe71]

What did I miss?

Why 61?

[Zoogster]

Besides the fact that these numbers are educated guesses based on sample siezures, and weapons that present themselves and known legal sales to determine a number of privately possessed arms...

I think it is quite telling that after the USA, which is predominantly legal guns, several nations are listed with the highest totals where legal onwership is all but non-existant. Mexico has less than 5,000 legal weapon owners, it has ranged from around 2,000-4,000 for years, and the types are very limited and restricted. Yet they have tons of small arms illegaly possessed, meaning it is mainly criminals that have them.

China ranked 3rd yet has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, even giving the death penalty with ease to criminals with a firearm, or selling or providing such arms to people. So we are safe to assume all those guns making it the third highest in the world are held by criminals. "A system of licensing and registration is the perfect device to deny gun ownership to the bourgeoisie." Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

In China, where the government controls some media outlets as government agencies and the media in general must operate within strict guidlines concurrent with government views, events like Virginia Tech are heavily broadcast repeatedly and discussed in a way to support existing arms laws. CCTV (China Central Telivison) an agency of the Chinese government for example gave it a lot of air time.

India ranked second has a serious martial history, self defense culture, etc, in fact carrying arms in the form of knives and swords is a part of the culture dating far back(before guns even existed). Yet it has rather draconian gun laws dating back to its British rulers, and later government distrust of its people, so it is safe to assume most of those are illegaly possessed.




So the study is interesting in more than one way.

[Zoogster]

All I hear about Mexico is how nobody can own anything but a .22 or you head to the slammer. Is that true?

Mexico's gun laws don't allow civilians to own guns in military calibers (9mm para., .45ACP, etc.) This is why the .38 super is very popular as a semi cartridge there. This law is very similiar to many other countries.

Mexico has only around 5,000 registered gun owners (All legal arms are registered). Most are illegaly possessed. In fact it is not even legal to transport a firearm in any manner, not on foot or in a car, no matter what it is locked in etc unless one first obtains permission from the police.
So picture that many people. Its not very many. A highschool has close to that many students many places. That is your amount of legal gun owners in Mexico.

[MRIman]

Long ago,@ mid to late 90's, American Rifleman had a piece
about Delaware County,NY. They said we had 7 guns per person
in the county. I felt "not up to par",so that set the base line.
Many years later,"we" are WAY above average.
This new number doesn't shock me one bit.
WE ARE "FREE",so they say!!????
Something to thing about I guess!!!!!!


MRI

[RKCheung]

We're #1! We're #1! :)

[Kimber1911_06238]

there are only 270 million guns in the US? I'd better start buying.

[The_Shootist]

Well, don't blame me - I have 13 by virtue of Monday"s Taurus Model 85 purchase.

But, you guys can't expect me to carry you forever...:evil:

[El Tejon]

Did you hear that, my fellow Americans? Some guy from Yemen, yes, Yemen, says that they have 3 guns for every citizen. And a Finn had to point it out to us!

Are you just going to sit there reloading ammo and thinking about which gun for bear, or are you going to do something about that?

.30 cal slob, *points at self* I'm *points at eyes* watching *points at .30 cal slob* you.:neener:

[denfoote]

You can bet that the Hildabeast has read this and exclaimed: "As soon as I'm president, this is going to change!!!"

[The Lone Haranguer]

Originally posted by El Tejon:
Alright, O.K., who are the slackers here? Let me see your hands if you own fewer than 61 firearms. *writes names down*

:o Hey, man, I'm trying!

15 handguns, 3 rifles - I'm so embarrassed ...

[busy_squirrel]

Damn guys, cut me some slack...I just started last December and it's been >1 gun per month, usually new. I do have some cheap mil-surps but they're not the bulk of the collection.

Isn't it the thought that counts?:o

[Glockman17366]

This story should probably be retitled "U.S. Has most LEGAL guns"

[2RCO]

I don't know if these stats are correct. I had always heard there are more guns than people here. Between my Neighbor and I we could arm the Subdivision. Honestly I could do it myself but they may need a backup weapon. I know guys that have a 1,000 plus guns. Are their really that many unarmed folks out there to throw us off. Not very many gun owners have just one. I would guess average among gun owners would be 3-5.

[Stevie-Ray]

You can bet that the Hildabeast has read this and exclaimed: "As soon as I'm president, this is going to change!!!"She probably doesn't expect that if she becomes prez, that number will skyrocket.

But it will.

[Zoogster]

This story should probably be retitled "U.S. Has most LEGAL guns"
Nah, most privately owned guns suits the point more. Legal status is decided by the stroke of a pen and makes little difference when comparing totals. I would hope our number was still the highest even if they were all outlawed.

[LeoC]

China, ranked third with 40 million privately held guns, had 3 firearms per 100 people.
I found this very surprising at first, but after thinking about it, I remembered that the few policemen in Beijing that I was able to talk to all had their own guns. A police sergeant I chatted with waxed on about how much he liked his Glock 17 and his "45". As far as I know, Glocks are NOT government-issue in mainland China, nor are any .45s. It would seem that police in China are able to own private handguns. That would account for the 40 million privately held guns in China, there are easily double that number of police there :what:

That would work together with the demonizing of gun ownership in other countries in the state-run news media. The message is clear in China: only police should have guns :uhoh:

[cwmcgu2]

Saw this on Digg.com and Fark.com, two sites that post popular as well as off-beat news. I was encouraged to see lots of pro-gun participation on those sites in the comment sections regarding the study.

[igor]

Yemen is trying to get on the gun control bandwagon:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=84742

[TheBigBulgarian]

Didn't see this posted yet.
Intersting they do not mention that the poor war torn countries are flooded with illegal guns.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070828/us_nm/world_firearms_dc;_ylt=Au0LFIuWuWXZYjFWzO4C.K.s0NUE


By Laura MacInnis
Tue Aug 28, 1:25 PM ET



GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released on Tuesday said.

ADVERTISEMENT


U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies.

About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States, it said.

"There is roughly one firearm for every seven people worldwide. Without the United States, though, this drops to about one firearm per 10 people," it said.

India had the world's second-largest civilian gun arsenal, with an estimated 46 million firearms outside law enforcement and the military, though this represented just four guns per 100 people there. China, ranked third with 40 million privately held guns, had 3 firearms per 100 people.

Germany, France, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil and Russia were next in the ranking of country's overall civilian gun arsenals.

On a per-capita basis, Yemen had the second most heavily armed citizenry behind the United States, with 61 guns per 100 people, followed by Finland with 56, Switzerland with 46, Iraq with 39 and Serbia with 38.

France, Canada, Sweden, Austria and Germany were next, each with about 30 guns per 100 people, while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower. Nigeria, for instance, had just one gun per 100 people.

"Firearms are very unevenly distributed around the world. The image we have of certain regions such as Africa or Latin America being awash with weapons -- these images are certainly misleading," Small Arms Survey director Keith Krause said.

"Weapons ownership may be correlated with rising levels of wealth, and that means we need to think about future demand in parts of the world where economic growth is giving people larger disposable income," he told a Geneva news conference.

The report, which relied on government data, surveys and media reports to estimate the size of world arsenals, estimated there were 650 million civilian firearms worldwide, and 225 million held by law enforcement and military forces.

Five years ago, the Small Arms Survey had estimated there were a total of just 640 million firearms globally.

"Civilian holdings of weapons worldwide are much larger than we previously believed," Krause said, attributing the increase largely to better research and more data on weapon distribution networks.

Only about 12 percent of civilian weapons are thought to be registered with authorities.

[mp510]

Interestingly, 58% of the over 92,000 AOL poll responders (claim to) own a gun. http://news.aol.com/story/ar/_a/when-it-comes-to-guns-were-no-1/20070828163909990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

[Seancass]

articles like this just make me want to go out and buy some more guns. maybe to share with friends and family. we have to do our part to put a gun in the hands of every man, woman, and child

:D

[flashman70]

Here's Neal Boortz's take on it:

HERE COME THE GUN PROTESTORS

A recent report says that in the US there are 90 guns for every 100 citizens. This makes America the most heavily armed society in the world.

Poor anti-gun moonbats, this is really going to get their thongs in a wad. Shame, really. I just hate it when that happens, even if they are dumber than a box of hair.


But let's take a quick look at something. Switzerland ranks 5th on a per capita scale of gun ownership. In Switzerland there are 46 guns for every 100 citizens. In fact, they give all males assault rifles for militia service, and they keep them at home. And yet Switzerland is one of the safest places to be. Why is that? Culture. It's America's gangster, drug-dealing urban culture that brings us these deaths, not the guns.

There's also a problem with the numbers. This report relied on government data to estimate civilian firearms. Are you telling me that Nigeria has just as comprehensive a system to monitor civilian gun usage as the United States? Do you think that governments would want to brag about the number of guns their civilians have? No. So relying on government data from each country is fruitless because it is collected completely differently, if at all. And definitely cannot be considered consistent and accurate.

By the way ... see if you can get our local ant-gun moonbat to explain why crime rates inevitably go down when people are allowed to carry concealed weapons. Ask the question .. their stammering is really awfully fun to watch.

[romma]

Are their really that many unarmed folks out there to throw us off.

Maybe the unarmed people in this country harvested oysters illegally in TX and are now convicted felons...

[Brick]

Alright, O.K., who are the slackers here? Let me see your hands if you own fewer than 61 firearms. *writes names down*

Ummm, you lazy bones, get to work buying those guns. Let's get that ratio over 1:1 next year. Buy 'em cheap and stack them deep.

LMAO! That was a great laugh.

France, Canada, Sweden, Austria and Germany were next, each with about 30 guns per 100 people, while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower. Nigeria, for instance, had just one gun per 100 people.

No real trick eh?