UK Gun Control Even More Restrictive? (No Movie Ads with Guns)
Congratulations are in order for the UK as they continue their efforts to remain #1 Nanny State of the World.
You know guns are illegal, you know you have to be 18 or older to buy kitchen knives and when that wasn’t enough, their was a call to outlaw pointy kitchen knives altogether (BBC). Of course, it is illegal to carry a knife at all in the UK (“…emasculated citizens tearing at vending machine packages of potato chips with their teeth or their car keys.)
Now, as seen in this AP story at Yahoo, the Advertising Standards Authority at the UK has taken a stand against TV ads that show firearms:
“LONDON – A TV ad showing actress Angelina Jolie firing weapons must not be shown because it could be seen as condoning gun violence , Britain’s advertising watchdog said Wednesday.“
Well… I guess this makes sense, after all the UK is very proud of their gun control.. Further quoting:
“The ruling underlined Britain’s sensitivity to gun crime.
There were 59 firearm-related homicides in England and Wales in 2006-2007, compared to the more than 10,000 gun-related killings reported by the FBI in the United States in 2007.“
Apparently Britain is also proud of their statistical analysis techniques. So, the authors of the article would like you to believe that you are 170x more likely to be killed with a gun in the US than Britain. Of course, there is a bit of a population difference. What are the true numbers?
Drudging through NationMaster, I was able to get the following information:
Murder by firearm:
| #8 | United States: | 0.0279271 per 1,000 people |
| #32 | United Kingdom: | 0.00102579 per 1,000 people |
Pretty darn good… So, it does look like, according to real numbers, that you are indeed 28x more likely to be killed by a firearm in the US. So, I guess since guns are the only way people die, that you are 28x more likely to be killed in the US vs the UK.. Except,
Murder (all causes)
| #24 | United States: | 0.042802 per 1,000 people |
| #46 | United Kingdom: | 0.0140633 per 1,000 people |
Hrm. Apparently, the Brits are pretty damn good with their knives and clubs. You are still more likely to be killed in the US vs the UK by a factor of 3, but, that isn’t quite the factor of 170 they wanted you to believe. No wonder they want to outlaw clubs and knives! I assume the silk handkerchiefs and neckties will be next…
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[...] all know the UK is crazy. We have talked about how even advertising guns in movies is a no-no. Well, the UK continues to go crazy. Because guns are so restricted, the UK citizenry has been [...]
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