Walter,

I tend to avoid these discussions because often no one on either side of the fence really wants to change their minds - no one is listening. However, I'll throw this into the mix and then bow out; I lived for many years in (and continue to travel regularly to) what has often been called the most violent country in the world. Guns are obtainable after getting the necessary license but it's not too difficult. We have been exposed, directly or indirectly, to violent, often extreme violent crime on numerous occasions including having a bullet shot through my car during a daytime ride through downtown JHB - if there had been people traveling in the back of the car then they would both have got it through the head.

Now what do I observe in that country which has many guns and gun owners? I observe that law abiding gun owners are not committing the crimes. Who are? Well quite frankly mainly it’s the poor, the destitute, the desperate, the uneducated, those without hope, without an economic future. Crime offers the potential for fast money and gratification. Also, there is mixed into this complex problem history, social issues, racism, anger, power struggles and all that. It is a complex issue but, in my opinion, poverty is the root cause; economic poverty, social poverty, educational poverty.

Crimes in the US will not be different from elsewhere in the world - committed by and large by those that live in poverty and the consequences of poverty on the entire life of the individual. The US is not comparable to Holland which is a very homogenous society, by and large, both in race, religious, socially and economically. The US has a far more varied and complex (recent) past compared to Holland, far more differences in the population, in society than Holland.

So in respect to crimes committed with guns the issue is not guns but poverty. To focus on guns only is actually doing the real problem a disservice. It is easy to focus on guns, it is a great political soapbox, a vote garner, but detracts from the far more complex and costly to solve root problem. It looks like we are doing something, looks like we are doing the right thing but we are potentially doing more harm to society by not paying attention to and addressing the root cause of the crime - poverty.

The other aspect of your argument is the unfortunate death by accidental shooting. This too happens in South Africa and is, of course, tragic. However, as a percentage of gun-deaths it is very small indeed.

The last argument you make is the ease with which a gun can take a life. Yes, it’s true, they can do a lot of damage quickly. But removing guns from society doesn’t solve the problem. The problem is not guns. The problem is poverty; economic, social, educational. If you remove the guns and leave the cause of crime then you will be no better off because those that would commit the crime will still have the guns. If you solve the cause then there would be no gun-crime since there would be no crime. That would then leave only accidentally shooting. And that, I’m afraid, will be very difficult to prevent completely but education can go a long way. And education, or rather the lack of it, is an aspect of poverty.