The Independent
Saturday 26 October 2002
Letters to the Editor

The sniper has been caught, but guns still threaten us

Sir: In three weeks, a sniper assassinated 10 Americans. During the same period about 1,600 people were killed by guns in the US generally, and more than 17,000 people around the world. The dedication of law enforcement to catching the Washington DC area murderer has been
admirable. If only a similar degree of commitment would be brought to the task of preventing thousands of other deaths by gunshot.

The US is not the only country affected by the proliferation of guns. Just as globalisation has increased the flow of information, it has increased the flow of guns around the world. As borders and trade barriers have come down, military forces have also been reduced, pouring millions of assaults weapons and other guns onto the global market for sale to terrorists, bandits, paramilitaries and ordinary blokes carrying a grudge against society in general or against their ex-wife, rival and
colleague in particular. The result is an estimated 300,000 deaths each year.

The United Nations is engaged in an effort to stop the proliferation of small arms (the term preferred in international diplomatic circles). Not surprisingly, the US, the largest exporter of firearms worldwide, has used its considerable weight to hamper the UN process for fear of alienating its gun lobby. How sadly ironic it is that Washington now finds itself terrorised by (probably) only one or two people with a gun.

The US sniper is one example - the tip of the iceberg - of a problem of global proportions: the increasing presence of guns in our communities. After the sniper is gone the wider problem will still remain, and another three weeks will still mean another 17,000 deaths. Our efforts to put a stop to firearm violence must be comprehensive and international in scope, and must move swiftly.

Rebecca Peters
Director, International Action Network on Small Arms
London WC1