as a nation. I like this direction for our future.

Key findings of the first ever "United States Peace Index."

" First-ever ranking of peace in the U.S. shows the nation has become more peaceful since 1995

Reductions in violence and crime to levels equal to Canada would yield an estimated $89 billion in direct savings, $272 billion in additional economic activity, and potentially create 2.7 million jobs.

New York, California and Texas record highest increases in peace since 1991, while North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana see largest declines

Peace is significantly correlated with factors related to economic opportunity, education and health

Peace is politically neutral – neither Republican nor Democratic states have an advantage."

See how your state/region fares:
[www.visionofhumanity.org]

...so superior firepower does help ???....

(not really ... Cultural and education is the key)

Metta.

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Live from Berserkeley, California | Originally from the City of Brotherly Freakin' Love

That's nice, but their concept of "peace" is a little odd. Violent crime, etc. is a no-brainer, but they assume in a peaceful nation gun ownership will be low because people won't feel the need to protect themselves. I think an awful lot of people own guns for recreational reasons, so I'm not sure about that assumption. I also wonder about incarceration as an index, since it overlaps pretty heavily with the violent crime index. They also have a global peace index, and one of the indices is military capability, the assumption being that less military capability equals more peace. I don't agree with that, at all. Good food for thought though. kj.

Export violence and domestic peace will be sure to follow.

I think an awful lot of people own guns because they have been told to be afraid by the NRA.

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Comedy Central: Best news channel that isn't a news channel.

Fox News: Best comedy channel that isn't a comedy channel.

Isn't Reagan's Cold War Peace Benefit wonderful ?
I can smell Nirvana.


It must be all the cosmetic surgery
Free big @#$%& and wrinkle remover for everyone

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RgrF
Export violence and domestic peace will be sure to follow.

There's actually a separate index for exporting military equipment. That said, is there anything that would suggest the weaker a nations military, the more peaceful their lives? There might be some isolated cases, but I doubt it's a trend.

Spock, I disagree almost completely, in that I'd be surprised if there is anyone who has bought a gun because the NRA told them to be scared. That wasn't really my point though. I was addressing their assumption that in a peaceful world, no one would have the desire to own guns. Clearly not true. kj.

"their assumption that in a peaceful world, no one would have the desire to own guns. "


where are you getting that from this website?

Notice that Canada gets a score of 2 on the "ease of access to weapons" index, meaning they have strict gun control. Gun ownership is very common in Canada and there is lot of hunting. But they have laws in place that control firearms to a degree that the US does not. The US has 90 guns for every 100 people and they can be easily acquired by pretty much anyone. Seems a bit excessive.

"Qualitative assessment of the ease of access to
small arms and light weapons. Ranked 1-5 (very
low-very high) by EIU analysts"

Quote
Lemon Drop
"their assumption that in a peaceful world, no one would have the desire to own guns. "


where are you getting that from this website?

Notice that Canada gets a score of 2 on the "ease of access to weapons" index, meaning they have strict gun control. Gun ownership is very common in Canada and there is lot of hunting. But they have laws in place that control firearms to a degree that the US does not. The US has 90 guns for every 100 people and they can be easily acquired by pretty much anyone. Seems a bit excessive.

"Qualitative assessment of the ease of access to
small arms and light weapons. Ranked 1-5 (very
low-very high) by EIU analysts"

It's in the actual report you can download as a "pdf". I looked at it because I wanted to know what their methods were. They're a little unusual, imho.

>>Seems a bit excessive.

As others have noted, the number of guns in the U.S. has increased in the last 20yrs., but we've evidently become more "peaceful" in that same period of time. So I don't know that their report really supports the gun control crowd. Interestingly, they also give gun ownership a pretty low weight compared to other indices. kj.

Quote
kj

Quote
Lemon Drop
"their assumption that in a peaceful world, no one would have the desire to own guns. "


where are you getting that from this website?

Notice that Canada gets a score of 2 on the "ease of access to weapons" index, meaning they have strict gun control. Gun ownership is very common in Canada and there is lot of hunting. But they have laws in place that control firearms to a degree that the US does not. The US has 90 guns for every 100 people and they can be easily acquired by pretty much anyone. Seems a bit excessive.

"Qualitative assessment of the ease of access to
small arms and light weapons. Ranked 1-5 (very
low-very high) by EIU analysts"

It's in the actual report you can download as a "pdf". I looked at it because I wanted to know what their methods were. They're a little unusual, imho.

kj.

There are a lot of pdf's linked to that website.
I'd appreciate it if you could find where you got that and link it.
I'd be curious to know the context of your quote because I'm not getting that general idea from the report. They do suggest that the sheer volume of easily available weapons in the US is a concern, but I see no hint that eliminating gun ownership is the goal.

"in a peaceful world, no one would have the desire to own guns"

Quote
kj

Quote
RgrF
Export violence and domestic peace will be sure to follow.

There's actually a separate index for exporting military equipment. ... kj.

I was referring to war but our export of arms isn't too shabby either.

Quote
RgrF

Quote
kj

Quote
RgrF
Export violence and domestic peace will be sure to follow.

There's actually a separate index for exporting military equipment. ... kj.

I was referring to war but our export of arms isn't too shabby either.

True, which is why I was wondering how they measured "peacefulness". The increase in war over the last 20yrs. pretty much nullifies any progress in other measures, at least in my mind. kj.