Originally Posted by Lutherf

In the pas 10 years there have been mass shootings in Germany, Belgium, Austria, France, Italy and the UK. No nation is immune from such an occurrence. Historically, Europeans have had a much lower rate of gun crime than the US has. Overall crime rates aren't that much different and, unless I'm seriously mistaken, the homicide rate in the UK actually INCREASED for the 5 years after the 1997 act. While that increase has since reversed it would appear that the act isn't what caused the decrease but, rather, a cultural aversion to homicide.

In the US the homicide rate is driven primarily by gang culture (suicide is the single largest factor in gun deaths but that's a different matter). Certain neighborhoods in certain cities tend to heavily skew the homicide rate. It is the resistance of local authorities in those areas to actively enforce laws which facilitates those homicides. Ultimately the difference is cultural, not a matter of the rate of gun ownership.