Guns are an essential service.

Americans are boosting gun ownership in fear of looting if the coronavirus continues and shuts off essential supplies such as food. Gun stores are open in most states, only five states – New York, Massachusetts, Washington, New Mexico and Vermont – have closed stores down.

According to a story in the Globe & Mail the US already has an extraordinarily high rate of gun deaths for a developed country.

A University of Washington study counted 37,200 in 2016, a rate of 10.6 for every 100,000 people. Canada had a rate of 2.1. The United Kingdom and Japan, which have some of the world’s toughest gun-control laws, were at 0.3 and 0.2 respectively.

Already shootings in some areas are up:

Philadelphia, for instance, saw a 22-per-cent rise in shootings in the four weeks ending March 22, despite a drop in other crimes. Police in Seattle logged a 21-per-cent increase in domestic violence calls last month.

Is the fear of shortages and looting justified?

Are gun shops an essential service?

Why does the US have a high rate of gun deaths?

This Style 10/6