So much for the notion of the USA being unusually violent due to its guns and legal carry laws:
With a murder rate many times higher than the US, Russian legislators approved the carry of guns for self-defense. The new law was announced on November 18.
The International Business Times reports that prior to this change “Russians were only allowed to own firearms for hunting or target practice.” Because of this, there are only “13 million” privately owned firearms in Russia compared to approximately 310 million the US. On the other hand, “there were 21,603 murders in Russia” in 2009 compared with just over 13,600 in the US, “which has a population almost twice as large [as Russia].”
In other words, in the past few years fewer guns equaled more murder in Russia while more guns equaled fewer murders in the US.
Under the new law, Russians can acquire a license to carry a firearm for self-defense. The license has to be “renewed every five years” and applicants must “undergo background checks and take a safety course.”
The law allows licensed Russians to carry a variety of different guns.
No wonder the gun control lobby is trying to rebrand as “gun safety”. Their arguments are failing on an international level.