Other Countries

1. In Jamaica, most gun homicides occur during disputes or are revenge killings

We read the police narratives for every homicide in Jamaica, 1998-2002.  The murder rate has been increasing steadily in Jamaica, and most of the murders are completed with firearms.  The principal motives are disputes and revenge.  Drugs, gangs, and political killings are no longer the main factors associated with murder.

Lemard, Glendene; Hemenway, David.  Violence in Jamaica: An analysis of homicides 1998-2002.  Injury Prevention.  2006; 12:15-18.

 

2. In Canada, most firearm deaths occur within 24 hours of the shooting

Using data for all firearm-injured patients in the Canadian National Trauma Registry, we evaluated demographic and causal factors of injury.  We found that about 40% of the shooting victims died in-hospital, with 83% of fatalities occurring on the first day.  ISS score, first systolic blood pressure, first Glasgow Coma Scale score, male gender and self-inflicted injury were all predictors of in-hospital death.

Finley, Christian J; Hemenway, David; Clifton, Joanne; Brown D Ross; Simons, Richard K; Hameed S Morad.  The demographics of significant firearm injury in Canadian trauma centres and the associated predictors of in-hospital mortality.  Canadian Journal of Surgery.  2008; 51:197-203.

 

3. In Mexico as in the USA, more guns = more gun suicide; gun ownership levels are not related to non-gun suicide

We assess the relationship between handgun prevalence and firearm suicide across the 32 states of Mexico for 2005.  Where there were more handguns, there were more firearm suicides.  There was no relationship between handgun prevalence and non-firearm suicides.

Miller, Matthew; Borges, Guilherme.  Firearms and suicide in Mexico: Intimations of mortality.  Jovenes.  2009; 32: 90-107.

 

4. Israel and Switzerland are not awash with firearms

Gun advocates cite Switzerland and Israel as exemplars of nations with widespread gun ownership, permissive gun laws, and encouragement of armed civilians who can deter and thwart shootings.  These claims are evaluated with analysis of the International Crime Victimization Survey data and translation of laws and original source material.  Compared with the United States, Switzerland and Israel have lower rates of gun ownership, stricter gun control laws, and their policies discourage gun ownership.

Rosenbaum, Janet E.  Gun utopias? Firearm access and ownership in Israel and Switzerland.  Journal of Public Health Policy.  2012; 33:46-58.