“In theory, this would result in taking guns out of the hands of criminals and putting them into the hands of responsible, law-abiding gun owners. Thanks to the nation's patchwork of background check laws, however, it's very easy for guns to wind up in the hands of criminals, again.” (Leber 1) Countries such as Canada, Great Britain, and Japan also have low gun violence rates. The U.K., in 2011, had 0.07 gun homicide rates for every 100,000 people, Canada had a 0.05 gun violence rate for every 100,000 people. Japan had a 0.6 gun violence rate for 100,000 people. And by contrast, the gun rate in the United States was three for every 100,000 people. One thing contributing to the low number in Great Britain is their strict gun control (Hickey 2). “To gain a firearm …show more content…
Applications must be renewed every five years.” (Hickey 3). To receive a shotgun, the process is similar but doesn’t need to certificate (Hickey 3). Anyone who had been convicted of criminal offense cannot handle a gun for five years and if the sentence is longer than three years, the ban is lifetime (Hickey 3). In Canada, there is no legal right to own a firearm. To buy a gun, it takes sixty days. A licensing for gun owners is mandatory. Gun owners must have a third-party references as well as take a safety training course and pass the background check that focuses on mental stability, criminal, and addiction histories (Hickey 4). “Canadian civilians aren't allowed to possess automatic weapons, handguns with a barrel shorter than 10.5 cm or any modified handgun, rifle or shotgun. Most semi-automatic assault weapons are also banned. As a result of exemptions, several kinds of assault weapons are still legal in Canada, although this has been the source of some controversy.” (Hickey 4). In Japan, civilians are not allowed to possess handguns, automatic assault rifles, military rifles, or machine