Op-Ed: U.S. doesn't have gun problem

Another sensational murder, another clarion call from the leftist gun-grabbers. Extremists are so predictable.

The clarion call, though, is built on a myth, a myth that somehow the United States is a dangerous place and that guns are the main reason for it.

The truth is that the United States is one of the safest countries in the world.

While the United States has the largest number of guns per capita, it has a surprisingly low murder rate compared to the rest of the world. It is not in the top 10. It is not in the top 25. It is not in the top 50.

It is not even in the top 100.

Of the some 500,000 intentional homicides committed on the planet every year, only about 15,000 occur in the United States.

The United States is not unique in this. Switzerland, which has almost as many guns per capita as the United States, — one can’t remain neutral without being able to defend itself — has one of the lowest intentional homicide rates in the world.

Nor do you need high levels of gun ownership to have violence. Great Britain, which has very few guns, has more violent crime per capita than the United States.

That doesn’t stop leftists such as President Barack Obama from calling for stricter victim disarmament laws in order to “stop the gun violence.”

After the tragic shooting on live television of two reporters in Virginia, White House press secretary Josh Earnest called for “common sense” gun control.

"There are some common sense things that only Congress can do that we know will have a tangible impact on reducing gun violence in this country. And Congress could take those steps in a way that will not infringe on the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.”

That is, of course, a blatant lie. Refer to the data above. They lie because gun control has nothing to do with reducing violence and everything to do with control. Additionally, any restriction on gun ownership is an infringement on the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans. The Second Amendment is clear: “The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall NOT be infringed.”

Unfortunately, there is a nation of leftists willing to buy into the false argument.

Click here to read the entire op-ed at LimaNews.com.