[threeleftsmakearight]

Israel & Switzerland have some of the most lax guns laws in the world and their crime rates are very low...

on the other hand

Brazil & Russia have extremely strict gun laws and their crime rates are very high

[RKV]

Sorry, but while firearms ownership is widespread (including full auto weapons) in the countries you mention (Israel and Switzerland) their gun laws are not lax.

"Even if you qualify for the right to buy a gun, getting to the point where you can actually purchase and take one home is fairly grueling. After a person puts in the application to the Interior Ministry, it takes up to about six weeks to check out his background and situation to determine if should get the license. If his request is accepted, he is notified by mail. He takes the notice of approval to a gun store and buys a gun - but he doesn't take the gun home yet. First, he has to take a shooting instruction lesson, that lasts about an hour, which concludes with the firing of 50 bullets at a target 10 meters away, and, in nearly all cases, the instructor's signature that the shooter has shown reasonable proficiency. Then the prospective gun owner takes the instructor's signature, plus the gun registration, and a letter attesting to a clean bill of health from his family doctor, back to the Interior Ministry which, if everything checks out, hands him his license. He then takes the license back to the gun store, which gives him the purchased gun it's been holding for him. Now he owns it, can carry it wherever he goes, and can renew it every three years by firing another 50 bullets at a licensed shooting range." http://www.jpfo.org/derfner-people.htm

Also the crime rate in Israel is not low - admittedly this is due to murders committed by Islamofascists. Brazil and Russia have high crime rates it is true, but their gun laws are less strict than say the UK.

I agree that self-defense is a human right and the 14th Amendment makes the 2nd Amendment applicable to the states - therefore the majority of the so-called "gun laws" on the books now are unconstitutional. That said, we need to get our facts straight and I believe that your comments are in error. Flame on.

[blau993]

Israel and Switzerland admittedly have low crime rates and almost universal gun ownership. However, both have the advantage of being relatively prosperous nations with fairly homogenous populations. Neither has the pockets of extreme poverty and disaffected minorities you would find in Russia, Brazil, or even the United States. The correlation between their minimalistic gun laws and their crime rates is not all that strong.

A much stronger argument can be made (and is made by scholars such as John Lott) by comparing crime rates in counties in the US which allow concealed carry to nearby counties that do not allow it. Rates of violent crime (murder, rape, armed robbery and assualt) tend to fall in the former and almost simultaneously to rise in the latter. Criminals may be stupid, but they are not dumb. They commit their crimes in the places where they stand the least chance of encountering an armed victim.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Israel & Switzerland have some of the most lax guns laws in the world and their crime rates are very low...

Actually, Switzerland's gun laws are anything but "lax" -- they require every adult male to keep a full-auto machine gun in his home. Funny how the Nazis skipped Switzerland . . .