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Armed violence prevention, gun control laws and the small arms trade:

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Small arms injury, armed violence prevention,
firearm regulation, gun law and gun control.

Global Impact of Gun Violence

“The death toll from small arms dwarfs that of all other weapons systems — and in most years greatly exceeds the toll of the atomic bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In terms of the carnage they cause, small arms, indeed, could well be described as ‘weapons of mass destruction’.” — Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations 1

Small arms, commonly known as firearms or guns,2 are used to kill as many as 1,000 people each day.3 4 Millions more are wounded, or their lives upended when access to development aid, markets, health, education and human rights is disrupted by people with guns.5

There are more than 875 million firearms in the world, 75 per cent of them in the hands of civilians.6 Guns outnumber passenger vehicles by 253 million, or 29 per cent.7 Each year about eight million new small arms, plus 10 to 15 billion rounds of ammunition are manufactured — enough bullets to shoot every person in the world not once, but twice.8 9 10

GunPolicy.org publishes evidence from hundreds of jurisdictions, allowing country-by-country comparisons of armed violence and the regulation of small arms around the world.

For more information on armed violence and gun control laws in each country and territory, use the search tools in the left hand column.
Last Updated on 30 May 2010

Short References

1.

Annan, Kofi.2000.‘Freedom from Fear: Small Arms.’ Report of the Secretary-General to the Millenium Assembly of the United Nations.United Nations General Assembly,27 March.Full Citation

2.

UNGA.1997.‘Report of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms.’ General and Complete Disarmament: Small Arms.New York:United Nations General Assembly,27 August.Full Citation

3.

Geneva Declaration.2008.‘Dimensions of Armed Violence.’ Global Burden of Armed Violence.Geneva:Geneva Declaration Secretariat,12 September.Full Citation

4.

IANSA.2006.‘A Thousand People Die Every Day.’ 2006: Bringing the Global Gun Crisis Under Control.London:International Action Network on Small Arms,26 July.Full Citation

5.

Control Arms.2009.‘Decision Time for an Urgent, Effective Arms Trade Treaty.’ Dying for Action: Oxfam Briefing Note.Oxford:Control Arms Campaign: Oxfam International, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms / IANSA,7 October.Full Citation

6.

Karp, Aaron.2007.‘Completing the Count: Civilian firearms.’ Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press,27 August.Full Citation

7.

Renner, Michael.2008.‘Vehicle Production Rises, But Few Cars Are 'Green'.’ Vital Signs Online: Transportation and Communication.Washington DC:Worldwatch Institute,21 May.Full Citation

8.

Batchelor, Peter.2001.‘Small Arms, Big Business: Products and Producers.’ Small Arms Survey 2001: Profiling the Problem.Oxford:Oxford University Press,1 July.Full Citation

9.

Batchelor, Peter.2003.‘Workshops and Factories: Products and Producers.’ Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied.Oxford:Oxford University Press,1 July.Full Citation

10.

David A Fahrenthold and Fredrick Kunkle. 2009. ‘Bullets are Speeding Faster Out of Gun Shops in U.S..’ Washington Post. 3 November. Full Citation