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An article analyzing Swiss gun culture. At first, it seems similar to the US gun culture because Swiss citizens are allowed to own select fire rifles and keep them in their homes. However, their rifle is for their country, not for themselves. The types of guns you can own isn't very restricted, but you are not allowed to have them in a vehicle unless youre going to a shooting range, and concealed carry is illegal. The Swiss own guns to quickly fight off an invading foreign army. Many Us citizens own guns to, in their mind, "keep the government in check".

It's interesting to not only compare policies between the US and other countries, but within our own country. Opinions and laws vary from state to state, region to region, city to city. Many European countries don't allow guns to be carried as an everyday accessory/emergency-self-defense device, and yet the USA is now allowing guns to be carried by civilians in bars (at least in certain states). It's an interesting argument for self-defense, but I wonder how good a judge you are at distinguishing between defense and offense when you're drunk.

Congress also passed a law a few months ago allowing loaded guns in national parks. . .

An article from the NRA's magazine, stating that the US' gun problem isn't about guns, its about gun culture. It cites Switzerland as an example, but obviously the article is biased.

This article was so entertaining to read because of their views that to me seem outrageous. I am trying to put my liberal bias aside but it's difficult when they begin the article saying that President Obama has drastically changed the entire government "so that it is more of a behemoth than at any time in history and more involved in every aspect of our lives". However, the article addresses the apparent hypocracy of the government which wants to enforce and limit gun use, but is continuously increasing the national weapon stockpiles. They word this in an adamantly conservative voice. Overall I really don't mind the info that they are presenting and their argument is reasonably sound, however, their constant negative and angry side comments are endless. His main point is that liberals should be very concerned about the current government but are not.

BERLIN - The last major debate over gun control in Germany was in 2009, when Tim Kretschmer, 17, got his hands on one of his father's guns and went on a rampage at his school in Winnenden, in southwest Germany.

In light of the recent shooting in Oregon, I think it's important to reflect on our gun control policies in comparison to those of other developed countries.

An interactive map of gun ownership and homicides by country

A letter from the vice president of the NRA to president Obama, he focuses on individual rights to bear arms and advocates for Obama to solve the problem of gun violence without stripping people of what he thinks is the right to bear arms.

Also, I don't know if this counts as comparative politics (it compares states within the U.S., not different countries), but I still think this is an interesting representation of how diverse gun policies are within the U.S. and how that affects gun violence.

While Mexico is democratic and civil society is prevalent, corruption in the government and the danger posed by cartels mean big problems for activist who oppose either. Lacking government sovereignty has made it much easier for the country's cartels to carry out murders and corrupt judges have made the possibility of consequence slim.

Important article, Matteo. I'm not clear what you mean by "Lacking government sovereignty." I think you are referencing the fact that the cartels have more firepower than the police, so they can strong arm what they want? And corruption, of course, is rampant, in and out of government. How might a country with these problems return to a rule of law? It's an important question for the US as well, in the area of gun violence. Countries that have substantially lower levels of gun violence than the US have all sorts of (not necessarily the same) measures in place to keep gun violence down. Is there something about the political culture of the US that makes this impossible? Or is there a way to change the culture?

A bunch of data comparing gun ownership rates and homicide rates in every country.

Raw data from the small arms survey

Graphical and some literary analysis of the small arms survey

A letter from the vice president of the Swiss gun rights group Protell to the Swiss president, advocating for the president to oppose an upcoming small arms ban. He mainly sticks to 2 arguments: Small arms in the hands of civilians are necessary for the defense of the country, and also says that more gun laws will criminalize the law abiding citizens. He does NOT say anything about individual rights in the entire letter.

A US Federal judge struck down washington DC's complete handgun carry ban because it was "unconstitutional". Ruling that the right to own a weapon extended outside the home. This is different than Swiss gun culture because the constitution protects the individual's gun rights here in the states.