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I was in school at the University of Liverpool, England from the fall of 1979 to the spring of 1979. I stayed in one of the dormitories and either took the bus or walked to my classroom (about three miles distant).
To get to the school, I had to walk through an area known as "Liverpool Eight." At that time it was considered one of the worst slum areas in England.
I never worried about my safety, as I never heard of anyone shot in the area. I used to read the "Liverpool Echo" (the local paper} just about every day. I also read the "Daily Telegraph" and the "Times of London" and I listened to BBC One and BBC Two, so I was cognizant of what was going on over there.
In two years' time, I never heard about anyone shot in England. I also never saw a gun store when I was there (and I was all over the country during that time.) At that time Liverpool was the fourth largest city in England.
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I don't believe that English people are better people or more virtuous than Americans are. They just have to settle their disagreements in other ways than using guns (and it seems to work.)
If we got rid of handguns and prohibited military-style rifles, we would not be only better off but also much safer. In 2017 the United States had 4.43 gun deaths per 100,000 people; Britain had .06 deaths per 100,000 people. I never worried about being shot in England. I do worry about being shot in certain places in the U.S.
George Hulstrand, Jr.
Willmar
