because we have the most guns of advanced nations. More guns=more murder. BTW,I would be satisfied with Switzerland's very tough gun laws.
<
http://www.psrla.org/FS-Violence.htm># Firearm injuries are the second leading cause of injury death in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002).
# In 2000 in the United States, 28,663 deaths occurred due to firearm injuries. Out of all firearm deaths, 16,586 (58%) were suicides and 10,801(38%) were homicides (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002).
# The annual cost of gun violence in America is estimated at $100 billion per year, including the cost of avoidance and preventative behaviors (Cook & Ludwig, 2000).
# In 1994 in the United States, based on an average medical cost of $17,000 per injury, the 134,445 gunshot injuries cost $2.3 billion in lifetime medical costs, of which $1.1 billion (49%) was paid by the U.S. taxpayers (Cook, Lawrence, & Ludwig, 1999).
# Approximately 35% of American households currently own a gun (Smith, 2001). Within homes with guns, 57% of all handguns are usually kept unlocked and 55% are usually kept loaded (Cook & Ludwig, 2000).
# Gun purchasers within the first week after purchase had a 57 times greater risk of firearm suicide than expected and the risk persisted- although at a lower level- over time (Romero & Wintemute, 2002).
# Between 1988 and 1997, 6,817 children 5-14 years of age died from firearms. Compared with children 5-14 years of age in other industrialized nations, the firearm-related homicide rate in the U.S. is 17 times higher, the firearm-related suicide rate is 10 times higher, and the unintentional firearm-related death rate is nine times higher (Miller, Azrael, & Hemenway, 2002).
# Supporting the hypothesis that firearm availability is associated with firearm-related deaths, individuals are more likely to die from suicide, homicide, and unintentional firearm injuries if they lived in states (or regions) with more, rather than fewer, guns (Miller, Azrael, & Hemenway, 2002).
# Children living in the five states with the most guns are 16 times more likely to die from unintentional firearm injury, seven times more likely to die from firearm suicide, and three times more likely to die from firearm homicide than children who lived in the five states with the fewest guns (Miller, Azrael, & Hemenway, 2002).
# In the U.S., between 1988 and 1997, over 45,000 women died of firearm violence. Among women 20 years of age and older, approximately 50% took their own lives with guns, 48% were shot and killed by others, and 2% were killed unintentionally with guns (Miller, Azrael, & Hemenway, 2002).
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