http://cnsnews.com/node/14301
London (CNSNews.com) - Despite the popular view of Europe as a bastion of tight gun control laws, a study due to be released next week says firearm ownership is widespread and that some European countries have developed a gun culture rivalling that of the United States.
European Union residents own a total of 67 million registered guns, but the real total is probably much higher, according to this year's Small Arms Survey. Ownership is most prevalent in Finland, France and Germany.
"Contrary to widely accepted national myths, public gun ownership is commonplace," researchers wrote. "It may appear to some outside observers -- especially Americans -- that Europeans have blindly surrendered their gun rights."
"The reality is that the citizens of most European countries are better armed than they realize," the report said. "Many -- but not all -- countries of Europe have a strong gun culture."
The Small Arms Survey 2003, funded by the Swiss government and 12 other nations, was carried out by the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.
Researchers found that the 15 E.U. countries have an average gun ownership rate of 17.4 guns per 100 people. While that figure is significantly lower than that in the United States, where ownership rates are climbing to one gun per person, individual European countries are taking up gun ownership at rates nearly as fast as the United States.
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