Why does the US have so many more “bad guys” than other developed countries? What does that say about us?

I ask because we have the highest rate of gun deaths in the developed world and because Republicans and Trump supporters insist that we can’t have any more gun control because “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” and “we don’t have a gun problem, we have a morality problem”. Why do we have a “morality problem”? I thought we were “the greatest country on Earth”? So we’re the greatest country on Earth, we just have the shittiest people?

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Ryannnnnn · 31-35, M

I think it's a bigger country and there's likely comparable numbers in other countries but people just don't watch other countries news and maybe it isn't being reported on. People only see what's in their own back yard.

JP1119 · 36-40, M

Nope, we have the highest rate of gun deaths in the developed world. That means like the most per 100,000. If every developed nation had the same number of people, the US would still have the most gun deaths. @Ryannnnnn

QuixoticSoul · 41-45, M

@Ryannnnnn There really aren't comparable numbers in countries with our level of development and our standard of living. There are totally more dangerous countries in the world, but they tend to be shitholes.

Ryannnnnn · 31-35, M

@JP1119 That might be true but one fact doesn't paint a true picture. I think the most gun crimes tend to be committed by a small amount of people who repeatedly kill people and/or are involved in other crimes as well. Then there's other deaths by suicide etc which count towards the number. It also would have the most gun deaths because it has the most guns. Just means people die from other means like stabbings and beatings in other countries, which would happen if you took away guns.

If you compare that with world-wide murder rates the US has a low homicide rate whereas Africa makes up about a third of homicides. So it's not as bad as you'd think and it's not full of bad guys.

QuixoticSoul · 41-45, M

@Ryannnnnn

Just means people die from other means like stabbings and beatings in other countries, which would happen if you took away guns.

If you compare that with world-wide murder rates the US has a low homicide rate whereas Africa makes up about a third of homicides. So it's not as bad as you'd think and it's not full of bad guys.

Yes, compared with some countries in Africa and Latin America US is a pretty safe country. But why do you want to compare this country to places in serious trouble?

RESULTS:
US homicide rates were 7.0 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25.2 times higher. For 15- to 24-year-olds, the gun homicide rate in the United States was 49.0 times higher. Firearm-related suicide rates were 8.0 times higher in the United States, but the overall suicide rates were average. Unintentional firearm deaths were 6.2 times higher in the United States. The overall firearm death rate in the United States from all causes was 10.0 times higher. Ninety percent of women, 91% of children aged 0 to 14 years, 92% of youth aged 15 to 24 years, and 82% of all people killed by firearms were from the United States.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26551975