I would hazard a guess that a high crime rate (specifically in a country with lax gun control) would have a definite and obvious link to a higher murder rate. albeit that premeditated murder would probably not rise substantially.Originally posted by j2k4@14 July 2003 - 18:35
Although economic ills always indicate higher crime rates, there is no similarly specific indicator as to murder rate.
THe statistics i mentioned do bear thinking about ie 3.4 times higher suicide rate and 72% greater chance of being shot & killed if you own a gun in your house. Admittedly the obvious defence to this is that u know the stats so u can make your own decision. But i would argue that maybe this is a case where it would be better to protect people from themselves, I'm thinking that the argument follows along hte lines of legal requirements for wearing seatbelts and crash helmets.
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