“In the United States, we had 9,000 people killed with guns last year, in similar countries like Germany 170 killed with guns, in Canada 150….”-Jerrold Nadler, Representative from New York

Germany has a population of 81,799,000, in a geographical area of 357,021 square km (137,847 square miles).

Canada has a population of 33,476,688 in an even larger area of 9,984,670 square km (3,854,085 square miles).

United States has a population of 311,591,917, in a geographical area slightly smaller than Canada!  The U.S. population is 9 times bigger than Canada, and 3.8 times bigger than Germany.

Now realize that Canada and Germany have much stricter gun control laws, and yet they suffer hundreds of gun related deaths every year.  This seems like proof that gun control doesn’t work.

Also, the numbers for Canada and Germany, used by Representative Nadler, are false!  According to the UN World Health Organization, in 2010 there were 1.1 gun related homicides, per 100,000 people in Germany.  That’s more than the 150 Representative Nadler claimed!

For some reason, official death by gun rates in Canada are hard to find, but one study said that in 2003 homicide by gun was about 0.5 per 100,000 people.   That’s still more than what Representative Nadler claims.

But if we’re going to compare country to country, let’s do!

Representative Nadler also avoided comparing the U.S. to South Africa, El Salvador and Thailand.  They actually have a far higher death by shooting rate than the U.S., and they have tougher gun control laws.

One Thai commentator hypocritically said the U.S. culture is to blame for gun crimes.   A 2002 study said Thailand had 20,032 homicides by gun in the year 2000!  In 2008 the homicide by gun rate was 5.9 victims for every 100,000 people.  It’s estimated that there are 10,000,000 guns in Thailand (a country smaller than California), but only 3,870,000 are legally registered.  So much for gun control!

The UN Office of Drugs and Crime reported 9.41 gun related deaths, per 100,000 people in South Africa, so far this year! Do the math, that’s more than the United States.  South Africa has stricter gun laws than the United States, those laws include registering your gun with the government.

El Salvador is the world leader in gun related deaths.  According to the Organization of American States, in 2011 there were 50.36 gun related deaths per 100,000 people in the tiny Central American country!  Do the math, that blows away anything in the United States.  “El Salvador has strict laws requiring a locally obtained license to possess or carry a firearm in the country.”-U.S. Department of State

According to the Organization of American States, in 2010 the United States had a total of 9 gun related deaths for every 100,000 people.  Of that 2.98 were homicides, 5.75 suicides and 0.27 accidental.  More gun control might mean less suicides!

Note: I don’t think these death by gun rates include people killed by police.