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Jeevan Vasagar
Wednesday July 2, 2003
The Guardian

...The researchers also found that, contrary to widely held beliefs, there is a high level of legal gun ownership in continental Europe.

In Germany almost as many weapons are sold in relation to the population as in the US.

A million gun sales are reported each year by German citizens, roughly a quarter of the number of guns bought by civilians in the US, whose population is more than three times higher.

"Many, but not all, European countries already have a strong gun culture, while Germany has a long tradition of private firearm ownership and limited regulation," said Aaron Karp, one of the authors.

France is unusual in Europe for its high level of handgun ownership.

Elsewhere most privately held guns are hunting rifles and shotguns," Mr Karp said.