In 2004, guns murdered:

Yes, that's right: in the United States the firearm homicide rate was thirty to forty times the firearm homicide rate of the other five countries, which, unsurprisingly, have significantly stronger gun-control policies than the United States.

With relatively few regulations on the sale and distribution of firearms in the United States, firearms are easily accessible to criminals. The United States consistently stands apart from its industrialized peers not only in firearm homicides, but also in overall homicide rates.

As an example, in World Report on Violence and Health (2004), the World Health Organization stated that more than 90% all violence-related deaths occur in poorer countries. Yet, the United States, one of the most powerful nations in the world, continues to remain in the bottom of the heap for both number of homicides and overall homicide rates.

In releasing its World Report on Violence and Health, the WHO urged:

Despite the fact that violence has always been present, the world does not have to accept it as an inevitable part of the human condition . . . . Violence can be prevented. This is not an article of faith, but a statement based on evidence. Examples of success can be found around the world, from small-scale individual and community efforts to national policy and legislative initiatives.

Violence in the United States can be prevented, too. And one way we can help prevent it is by advocating for sensible gun laws that stop the flow of illegal guns into our communities and into the hands of criminals, juveniles, gang members, and other people who shouldn't have access to firearms.

Join our Campaign Against Illegal Guns: help us stop the flow of illegal guns and make America's streets safe again.