10. Guns South of the Border
It’s very possible for men and women to own guns in Mexico, however the process is fairly rigorous and the country is very cautious about providing weapons over a certain caliber. What’s more, anyone who wants a gun must petition the country’s Defense Ministry. The Defense Ministry is also the only place from which these citizens can procure these weapons – at least legally. Even though Mexico is embroiled in a raging drug war where 122 people per million die through gun homicide, that rate is just slightly higher than Americans’ death rate from pancreatic cancer.
11. Norway Proves No Country Is Immune
Norway isn’t typically featured when it comes to the gun control population because they’re something of an odd duck. In spite of the fact that the country is considered “strict” in terms of its gun laws — age limits and government licenses are among the requirements — the number of gun owners in the country is quite high. Norway is actually tenth in terms of gun ownership, yet their instances of gun violence are very low (1.75 persons fire-arm related deaths per 100,000). That doesn’t mean the country is immune, though, as in 2011, one man killed 77 people at a Norwegian summer camp.
12. Australia, the Obligatory Slide
It’s essentially impossible to have a conversation about firearms without mentioning Australia, which once had a real problem with gun violence in their country. Then, the government passed the National Agreement on Firearms, which all but prohibited automatic and semi-automatic rifles in the country and tightened the country’s grip on gun ownership over all. As a result, Australia has reported a marked decrease in gun crime in the country, making them a model for reducing violence through legislation. They haven’t had a mass shooting since 1996, whereas they’ve become all too commonplace in the US most of us have lost count.
