# Is now a good time to talk about gun safety laws? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 24, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-now-a-good-time-to-talk-about-gun-safety-laws/938605 "2021-03-24T19:01:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 132
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-now-a-good-time-to-talk-about-gun-safety-laws/938605/132 "2021-03-30T20:57:53Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I apologize if I misunderstood you but why the phrase "civilized countries " here then? It confused me. > > And like here where you use the phrase “first-world country” but apparently exclude the USA? Or did you mean to say “every first-world country on earth except the USA”? I see that others have already answered and seemed to have no difficulty understanding what I mean. The point is that the US rates of gun violence compare very poorly to other countries that are culturally and economically similar, variously referred to as the rich countries, developed countries, industrialized countries, economically advanced countries, first-world nations, and other such terms. Obviously that’s just what I mean when I say that with regard to effective gun policy “My reference point is how such standards are applied in civilized countries that do have a handle on gun violence.” And equally obviously, when I refer to “gun control measures in every first-world country on earth”, I am trying to draw an appropriate comparison with the US, which goes without saying and without having to point it out is also a first-world country. Trying to pretend that I meant something different seems disingenuous. I note also that you object to such comparisons because they’re “cherry-picked” is equally absurd. The comparisons in the first chart below are not “cherry-picked” to win an argument, they’re just a handful of representative countries most socioeconomically similar to the US, and they have all effectively controlled the gun problem. If you include other developed countries for a more complete list, like the UK, the point is even stronger. You rather humourously continue to insist that the only valid comparison is to compare the US with the entire world, not just economically similar countries. Well, there’s a bit of a glimpse into that in the next chart – in the world’s worst 20 countries for firearm death rate, 19 are even worse than the US. They include places like El Salvador, Venuzuela, and Afghanistan. Those are valid comparisons when assessing gun violence in the US? Seriously? [![](https://cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/3672.jpeg) ](https://cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/3672.jpeg) [![](https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2018/08/top-20-death-rate-revised-849x1024.png) ](https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2018/08/top-20-death-rate-revised-849x1024.png) > [@DrDeth](#): > > Ok, but are we going to say that, for example, Mexico is not a civilized country? I mean sure they have issues, but they are civilized. Seriously? This again? Mexico has a gun problem because despite having a fairly high level of industrialization, they are infested with powerful violent drug cartels and rampant government corruption. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure, but most Euro nations didnt start out with a gun culture like America. > > And then many went thru a period of fairly recent dictatorships that removed most civilian guns by draconian means. What “recent dictatorships” have there been in Canada? In the UK? In Australia? Canada started out with exactly the same kind of colonial and frontier culture as the US. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-now-a-good-time-to-talk-about-gun-safety-laws/938605)._