Is Sweden Doing it Right?

America is known as the free country and one of the main freedoms is that American citizens have been the right to bear arms. Every state has their interpretation of this amendment. With liberal states like California having very strict gun laws and very conservative states like Texas having but a few gun regulations. 

With the increase in public shootings in the past years, it’s causing more people to question if we should have more gun laws. This is causing the country to be split into two, with one side wanting more gun control laws and the other side interested in maintaining gun freedom.

So will more gun regulations lower the violent crime rate? This is the question everyone is asking. There is research supporting both sides. People who are in favor of gun control look at the Northern European countries like Sweden and Finland and so how they handle guns. These countries are regarded as some of the safest places in the world. The Bureau of diplomatic security  reports that  “The homicide rate in 2014 remained unchanged from the rate in 2013 with 87 cases reported both years. This was up from 68 cases reported in 2013.” (source.) With only 87 homicide reports, a year and Sweden having about 9.59 million citizens, it goes to show how safe the country is.

Obtaining a gun legally in Sweden is a difficult task. With the only way to get a handgun is to participate in a gun club for six months. Getting a rifle requires an individual to pass a gun and hunting test. This is almost the polar opposite than how it is in the United States. To be honest, these kinds of regulations would not sit well with the American people. Many Americans have a huge passion for guns and would not stand for any gun rights being taken away from them.

After taking a look at countries like Sweden, Finland, and Norway, it’s easy to notice how a couple smart laws can help prevent crime. These countries show a good example and countries like American need to how they succeeded in lowering their crime rate.

Sources:

1.       http://www.sweden.org.za/gun-laws-in-sweden.html

2.       https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/crimestats

3.       http://world.time.com/2012/12/20/the-swiss-difference-a-gun-culture-that-works/