IN some nations, private gun ownership is an enshrined right to protect one's family and private property. Long before any organized form of government existed, early settlers defended their loved ones and communities using a range of weapons. In countries like the United States and Mexico, the right to bear firearms is deeply ingrained in their culture and constitutions. Gun ownership aims to deter government oppression or prevent outlaws from attacking peace-loving communities.<\/p>\r\r
The World Population Review released the 2017 Small Arms Survey, which inventoried registered and unregistered firearms owned by civilians, the military and police agencies. The data is revealing and insightful.<\/p>\r\r
Table 1 shows the top 10 nations with the highest number of civilian-owned firearms. The US leads 217 countries with 393.3 million guns held by civilians, with India trailing way behind with 71.1 million.<\/p>\r\r\r<\/figcaption>\r<\/figure>\r\r
The Philippines ranked 25th with 3.78 million, a few notches lower than worn-torn countries like Afghanistan, which was 23rd (4.27 million), and Ukraine at 22nd (4.39 million). Filipinos' attraction to firearms represents men's virility and the erosion of trust in the government's ability to protect their citizens.<\/p>\r\r
Among Southeast Asian countries in Table 2, the Philippines placed second. The top spot goes to Thailand, which has 10.34 million firearms. Thailand shares borders with three unstable and conflict-affected countries: Myanmar to the west, Laos to the north and east, and Cambodia to the southeast. Thai gun owners are adamant in defending themselves from bandits and intruders.<\/p>\r\r\r<\/figcaption>\r<\/figure>\r\r
When we consider the ratio of guns to the population size in Table 3, the top 10 countries with guns held by civilians per 100 people are:<\/p>\r\r\r<\/figcaption>\r<\/figure>\r\r
The Philippines is placed 129th with 3.6 out of 100 people owning firearms. It is lower than Thailand (15.1), Mexico (12.9) and South Africa (9.7). Gun ownership in the Philippines is more concentrated in high-income groups like oligarchs, businessmen, middle-class professionals, celebrities, politicians, private security agencies and even organized crime.<\/p>\r\r
Again, the US topped the list with 120.5 per 100 people. Americans like the late singer Elvis Presley loved to own more than one gun. Elvis was reported to own 38 firearms. When he visited then-president Richard Nixon in the White House on Dec 21, 1970, he gifted him with a Colt.45 pistol.<\/p>\r\r
The US has less than 5 percent of the world's population but has a 40-percent share of all civilian-owned guns on the planet. It is not surprising why incidents of gun violence \u2014 particularly mass shootings, murders and suicides involving guns \u2014 are widespread there due to easy gun access. Countries where guns are restricted, like China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam, have fewer gun-related crimes. Lately, in China and Japan, assailants resorted to blades and improvised weapons in attacking people.<\/p>\r\r
For the combined firearms of military and police, Table 4 shows the top 10 countries. The size of state-owned firearms in Russia at 32.7 million and China at 29.4 million dwarfed the US' 5.56 million. Still, the US cannot be displaced as No. 1 in gun ownership among civilians with 393.3 million firearms.<\/p>\r\r\r<\/figcaption>\r<\/figure>\r\r
The Philippines also placed 42nd place in terms of firearms held by security forces, accounting for nearly 594,000. This pales in comparison to Vietnam (4.1 million), Indonesia (2.1 million), Taiwan (2.098 million) and Thailand (1.28 million). Our military and police are small and insufficient in firepower to defend our land and maritime territory.<\/p>\r\r
Critics say that gun ownership is nothing but a misplaced sense of hypermasculinity. Gun ownership in the Philippines is widespread but generally tolerated by the government. In cases of national emergencies, war or invasion, gun ownership among civilians has a multiplier effect on the state's ability to defend its national sovereignty against foreign aggressors. This was seen in the conflicts in Ukraine and Afghanistan.<\/p>\r\r
This is fact-checking today's information and knowledge without the hype of politics.<\/p>\r\r
P.S. Absolutely refrain from firing your guns on New Year's Eve.<\/p>","article_custom_fields":"{\"\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_keywords\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_description\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_title\":[\"\"],\"sponsored_flag\":[\"\"],\"offer_flag\":[\"off\"],\"featured_article_flag\":[\"\"],\"drupal_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":null,\\\"properties\\\":{\\\"PUBLISHED\\\":0,\\\"PROMOTED\\\":0,\\\"STICKY\\\":0},\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"wp_custom_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"article_tags\":[\"\"],\"show_image\":[\"off\"],\"Disable_Ad\":[\"off\"],\"disable_player\":[\"off\"],\"column\":[\"\"],\"kicker\":[\"\"],\"edel\":[\"\"],\"delu\":[\"\"],\"delt\":[\"Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.\"],\"premium\":[\"off\"],\"Redirect_URL\":[\"\"],\"Registration_required\":[\"off\"],\"background_image\":[\"off\"],\"user_needs\":[\"\"],\"page_number\":\"0\",\"initial_publication\":\"\",\"date_created\":\"2024-12-28 23:06:11\",\"date_modified\":\"2024-12-28 23:12:35\",\"last_modified_user\":\"Severino Frayna\",\"section_color\":\"\",\"target_page\":\"0\",\"cxense_metatags\":null}","cms_type":"live","author_id":3542,"section_id":13,"seo_meta_keywords":"Fact-checking,gun,ownership","seo_meta_description":"","seo_meta_title":"Fact-checking gun ownership","publish_time":"2024-12-29 00:06:00","related_articles_ids":"","article_tags":"","sub_section_id":6,"visit_count":70,"sponsored_flag":0,"offer_flag":0,"featured_article_flag":0,"media_gallery_flag":0,"video_gallery_flag":0,"highlight_flag":0,"top_story_flag":0,"is_updated":0,"is_old_article":0,"old_article_id":0,"article_byline":"Lloyd C. Bautista","ts":"2024-12-29 15:53:41","last_edited":"2024-12-28 23:12:35","alt_publish_time":"2024-12-28 23:12:39","image_path":"{\\\"image_path\\\":\\\"manilatimes\\\\\/uploads\\\\\/images\\\\\/2024\\\\\/12\\\\\/28\\\\\/502040.jpg\\\",\\\"cms_type\\\":\\\"live\\\",\\\"small_image\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"is_updated\\\":\\\"0\\\",\\\"image_cropping\\\":\\\"{\\\\\\\"original_image\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\"image_original_width\\\\\\\":1200,\\\\\\\"image_original_height\\\\\\\":630,\\\\\\\"icd_image_type\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\"original_image\\\\\\\"},\\\\\\\"main_image\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\"image_main_width\\\\\\\":1200,\\\\\\\"image_main_height\\\\\\\":630,\\\\\\\"icd_image_type\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\"main_image\\\\\\\"}}\\\",\\\"is_copied\\\":\\\"0\\\",\\\"media_type\\\":\\\"0\\\",\\\"image_caption\\\":\\\"Lloyd C. Bautista\\\",\\\"image_alt_text\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"image_count\\\":5}","author_name":"Lloyd C. Bautista","section_name":"Opinion","sub_section_name":"Columns","slide_show":0,"breaking_news":0,"visit_count_update_date":"2024-12-29 15:53:41","old_cms_article_id":null,"permalink":"2024\/12\/29\/opinion\/columns\/fact-checking-gun-ownership\/2028113","show_image_in_thumb":0,"api_status":2,"a_custom_data":"{\"exclude_from_gallery\":null,\"lead_image_id\":null}","publication_id":2,"max_publish_time":"2024-12-29 00:06:00","page_number":"0","homepage_article_flag":0,"article_shortlink":null,"cropped_image":0};
IN some nations, private gun ownership is an enshrined right to protect one's family and private property. Long before any organized form of government existed, early settlers defended their loved ones and communities using a range of weapons. In countries like the United States and Mexico, the right to bear firearms is deeply ingrained in their culture and constitutions. Gun ownership aims to deter government oppression or prevent outlaws from attacking peace-loving communities.
The World Population Review released the 2017 Small Arms Survey, which inventoried registered and unregistered firearms owned by civilians, the military and police agencies. The data is revealing and insightful.
