[NickMPK]

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The U.K. has very strict gun laws also, yet has far more violent crime than Norway. London has a higher rate of violent crime than New York City.


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This is really a pretty powerful argument in favor of gun control.

A lot of people who oppose gun control claim that it wouldn't reduce the murder rate because the US is simply a different (more violent) culture than countries that have both strict gun control and much lower murder rate.

Yet England and many other countries with strict gun control still have a high rate of violent crime. This suggests that the culture of violence in these countries isn't much different than America's. Indeed, petty violence like bar fights and soccer riots seem like a much bigger part of the culture in England than in the US. Gun control does not lessened the natural propensity for violence present in humanity.

What is the big difference between the crime rate in England and the US? A much much lower murder rate. Essentially, gun control has taken what would have been murders and turned them into much lesser violent crimes like assault. Isn't this exactly what you would intuitively expect? Gun control hasn't reduced the number of criminals, but it has dramatically reduced the damage that criminals are able to cause.