I spend far too much of my free time being unnecessarily concerned with opinions differing from mine out on the wild open internet.
This morning I saw a snarky comment, "Iceland has a lot of guns, but there aren't many murders there, so huh, I guess it's not about the number of guns. "
In fairness, the comment was in response to a comparison of Iceland and Stockton, CA. The information came from the Guardian Report on gun violence. Iceland, given its size and unique geographical situation is probably not the best comparison..
http://www.theguardian.com/...
The implication here is about people who want to do something about gun violence by doing something about guns. It is intentionally attempting to muddy the waters, and inject doubt as to the root of the vastly higher gun violence numbers in the US.
Additionally, the argument is also referencing a highly homogenous population to indicate that there is also a racial/cultural component to the problem.
What's up with Iceland's gun laws? I didn't know anything about them, so I took a second to look them up. I'd be all for adopting these common sense regulations for firearms.
It's pretty simple-
http://www.gunpolicy.org/...
There is no guaranteed right to own a gun in Iceland.
You may only own a gun with permission of the government.
All sales of guns are registered and kept with an official registrar.
You must demonstrate a valid purpose for owning a firearm.
"Self Defense" is specifically not a valid purpose for owning a firearm.
You may only own a firearm if you have done the required training, and you are 18 years old.
A unique identifying mark is required by law on all guns.
Most frequently, you'll hear this argument discussing Switzerland. Many of the same types of stipulations in the law exist, except that young men are part of the militia in Switzerland, and receive training. They are also allowed to leave their guns in the armory. It seems like they've been steadily increasing the regulations for guns since around 1999.
Funny thing- My friend in Switzerland told me that she wanted to start jogging. When she went to get some pepper spray, she had to register it.