Philippines Shootings Illustrate Worldwide Gun Violence Problem

[FlyAway]

Interesting statistic to note here. Was kind of surprised to see Philippines used as the example to illustrate the worldwide gun violence.

http://news.yahoo.co...-190043649.html

Philippines shootings illustrate worldwide gun violence problem

A shooting rampage that left a pregnant woman, her 3-year-old daughter, and seven others dead on Friday near the capital of the Philippines illustrates that the United States isn’t the only nation facing problems with gun violence.

The alleged gunman had been on an alcohol and methamphetamine binge for the past week and had just returned home “because of a marital problem,” reports the Associated Press. The shooting spree began in a neighborhood outside Manila. The gunman was killed in a shootout with police.

The killings happened just three weeks after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn., when a 20-year-old gunman armed with an assault weapon murdered 26 people, including 20 children. As in the U.S., people in the Philippines already were wrestling with the problem of gun violence in their country following the death of a 7-year-old girl, who was hit by a bullet of unknown origin during traditionally noisy celebrations on New Year's Eve.

There are similarities and differences between both countries’ attitudes and cultural responses to gun violence.

While the United States has the highest per-person percentage of gun ownership in the world, according to Reuters, the Philippines has a much lower gun-ownership ratio. There are a mere 4.7 guns for every 100 Filipinos and there are 3.9 million privately licensed firearms in the Philippines. In the United States, there are 88.8 guns per 100 people and 270 million in the country, reports GunPolicy.org, a web site hosted by the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney.

Despite those numbers, the Philippines has a much higher gun-related homicide rate than the United States.

According to the most recently available data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, there were 8.9 homicides per 100,000 people in the Pacific island archipelago in 2003, while in the United States there were 3.3 homicides per 100,000 people.

Illegal gun ownership and gun trade in the Philippines are also problems.

Filipinos are required by law to be licensed to possess a firearm, and civilians are restricted to a single pistol and either a rifle or shotgun. Even so, there are an estimated 160,750 illegal guns in the Philippines, according to GunPolicy.org, which did not have comparable U.S. data available.

Tighter gun restrictions actually encourage illegal gun trade, Reuters notes. “With legal access denied, Filipinos simply turn to the many illegal gunsmiths who ply their trade in back alleys and on the edge of rice fields despite government crackdowns.” In addition, gun laws are not vigorously enforced, and availability is as easy as visiting a gun shop in a Manila shopping mall.

By contrast, most U.S. states do not require a permit to own or buy a firearm, though some allow residents to carry concealed weapons with a permit. People must be at least 18 years old to buy a rifle or shotgun, and 21 to buy a handgun, with a background free of violent crimes and no pending criminal investigations.

The tragedy at Sandy Hook, however, has led to a review of federal gun laws and potentially a ban on assault weapons. President Barack Obama has tapped Vice President Joe Biden to lead a task force to come up with a set of federal guidelines on guns. By contrast, the National Rifle Association, the powerful lobby supporting gun manufacturers, has proposed putting armed police in every school in the nation.

[OldUgly&Cranky]

even though im in canada and our laws are different then the USA i will never give up my rite to own a gun ( and im a person that was against guns before ) , governments use the these sad things that happen as a reason why we need more gun control , the canadian government tried that by registering guns guess what happened NOTHING and it cost us 1 BILLION tax dollars and then they scrapted it 1 billion $ waisted , its not guns that kill or hurt people it PEOPLE that do that , if anything should be regulated it should be ammo , cant hurt or shoot people if you cant get bullets !!!

as for stopping illegal firearms that will never stop no matter how many restrictions they put on in any country , do criminals apply for a gun permit ? personally myself i would rather have a gun legally and if somebody tries to hurt me or my family he will get a huge suprise especially if its a 32 gauge shotgun ( come back to my house will you ) , yes there are other means as well like a guard dog on your property but if they come threw my front door i wont stand by and wait , think of what they are thinking when they hear the sound of a shotgun cocking ??? should i rob them now ?? its a pretty scarry sound !!!

O-U-C :thumbsup:

[jock_in_a_frock]

total disrespect for human life, im actually in Paranaque City, not to far from where this happened, and to think i wasnt even locking the door at our guesthouse at night,, i now lock 3 doors before sleeping, were in a safe area but you cant be to careful !

also saw the incident on the news of the young girl shot, they think that someone shot up into the sky when celebrating new years, as the bullet hit her on top of the head and came out just below her eye, such a tragic beginning to the new year for the families involved..

[i am bob]

This one could become a political topic very quickly - let's all remember our other motto of "We Don't Do Politics", ok?

Besides, if I spouted off in my long-winded thoughts on the side-topic, Tom would have to buy a new Server to hold all the data...

So remember! Play nice!

:buttkick: :mocking:

[Bastos]

not politics, facts

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th century because of gun control: 56 million.

[i am bob]

When some facts don't present the whole story (think the 5 w's - who, what, when, where, and why), this does not keep them from being political. We recently had issues on another series of posts concerning politics - let's not go there again, k? NO POLITICS PLEASE!

[FlyAway]

While visiting my friend in Mexico we got on the discussion of all the recent violence covered in the news. World wide violence is perceived to be on the rise due to instantaneous news media communication. 100 years ago the world population was way less than it is now. If the technology of today was around back then we would have nearly 24 hours of non-stop violence coverage. We would think the world was falling apart.

Humans have been killing each other since the beginning of time. We get more efficient at it as the years go by.