Citizens Prerogative Podcast Cited Stats
S3 E58 Bear Arms for Militias Sake

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		• Australia dealt with their gun risk exposure after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. 23 were wounded and 35 people were killed. 
			§ They enacted controls like:
				□ Banning semi-automatic rifles and shotguns. 
				□ Mandating gun registration. 
				□ Requiring a reason to buy a gun. 
				□ Established rules for storing guns. 
			§ The result:
				□ One study showed: 
					® 65% decrease in gun suicides after one decade.
					® 59% decrease in gun homicides in the same time. 
				□ Only one mass shooting since, 26 years later.
			
		• The suicide part is notable, because we know that preventing access to a method is an effective key to prevention. 
			§ This is in line with a marked decline in suicide by oven when Britain switched from coal gas (offered easy and painless asphyxiation) to the less lethal natural gas. Suicides dropped in half after the switch in 1970.
			§ CDC published a report concluding (no surprise) that, "Ready availability of firearms is associated with an increased risk of suicide in the home." 

		• The Swiss love their guns and seem to have a healthy relationship with them. 
			§ They have the largest annual marksmanship competition in the world. 
			§ Citizens are conscripted for two years of training and service in the military which is comprised of local state militias. 
			§ Their military issued firearm is sent home with them minus ammo, which requires a permit. 
			§ Gun homicide rates are 20 times lower that the U.S. because they have controls like:
				□ Background checks.
				□ Automatic weapons ban.
				□ Require gun purchases to be registered.  
		
		• Video games are not a factor. The action here is to move on from this red-hearing.  Evidence shows the issue is directly related to the availability of and access to guns. 
			§ The Japanese are only outspent on video game sales by the U.S. and China. 
			§ Japan does not allow private gun ownership. 
			§ The law states essentially that, "No person shall possess a firearm." 
			§ Exceptions are few and operate under an intrusive bureaucratic regime. 
			§ They have 0.3 firearms per 100 people.
			§ They had only 4 gun deaths in 2020 for 125 million people.
			§ The U.S. had 45,222 that year for 329 million people. 
		
		• As citizens, it is our prerogative to elect representatives that have the backbone to enact such legislation as we discussed here. To make up for lost time, we should consider going further, like:
			§ Increasing the minimum age for ownership to 21. 
			§ Requiring periodic mental health evaluations where changes in status should affect access to guns.
			§ And since children potentially have access to these weapons at home, we should invest in their mental healthcare and monitoring for our common good.
	
	Other Info.
	
		• Much of the national stats and information was gleaned from a perennial source of perspective for this podcast, GPS with Fareed Zakaria. The Sep. 4, 2022 episode specifically.