The Journal of the American Medical Association has published the results of a global study by hundreds of academics of “firearm deaths outside of war zones between 1990 and 2016” and their relationship to different degrees of gun control laws. The report shows, among other things, that the rates of accidental death, suicide, and homicide due to firearms have dropped in Australia over that period of time. Guess what? Yes. You already guessed it!
Dr Franklin said the Australian National Firearms Agreement, enacted following the murder of 35 people in Tasmania in 1996 by a lone gunman armed with high-powered weapons, has been closely linked with declines in firearm deaths in Australia.
"We've seen a decline particularly in firearm suicides and an absence of mass shootings. It's a pattern we see in South Africa and Brazil, with tougher gun laws leading to a fall in firearm deaths in those places too," he said.
The study found that stricter gun laws mean fewer suicides, fewer gun deaths where people don’t get a chance to change their mind about an impulse they might have. The researchers also pointed out that making it harder to have an unsecured firearm in the home could have profound impacts on lessening the number of cases of accidental deaths of children. There is already data showing that, in our country, the need to secure firearms in the home is egregiously unchecked.
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