ANPAM. Scientific study: link between the ownership of firearms and the number of homicides

ANPAM. Scientific study: link between the ownership of firearms and the number of homicides

The study conducted by the University of Liege on the factors that affect the number of homicides committed with firearms has been presented in Nuremberg for the World Forum on Shooting Activities (WFSA).

Rome, 24 February 2017 – It’s impossible to scientifically prove there is any link between the availability of firearms and the severity of gun control legislation on the one hand, and the number of homicides committed with firearms in any particular country on the other. These are the findings of an independent study carried out by the Department of Criminology of the University of Liege on the “Factors that affect the number of homicides committed with firearms.” 

The aim of the study was to establish any links between the number of homicides committed with firearms, ownership of firearms and the severity of gun control legislation. It was conducted on the basis of precise technical statistics taking a sample of 52 countries identified in consideration of three fundamental elements: the population, political regime and the absence of conflict within the country’s borders. 

Funded by the World Forum on Shooting Activities (WFSA), the study was conducted independently by Professor Michael Dantinne and researcher Sophie André in the prestigious Belgian University of Liege. The study found there is no scientific proof that stricter gun control laws and a reduction in the number and type of legally owned firearms has any effect on the number of homicides, or criminal or terrorist activity. 

The study, which will be presented next week at Nuremberg for the WFSA’s Public Meeting, can be downloaded from https://goo.gl/FD87le, and clearly shows that the number of homicides committed in a particular country depends mainly on the social-economic conditions in that country. In particular, the authors of the study emphasised that the infant mortality rate, a key element for assessing the conditions of poverty in a country, is the most significant criterion for analysing the data on the number of homicides committed. 

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