10 people die every day from gun violence in Turkey

ISTANBUL

Ten people die every day from gun violence in Turkey, according to Umut (Hope) Foundation, a prominent NGO dedicated to reducing the ever-growing problem of private gun ownership in the country.

“The issue is not to identify the problem but how to resolve the problem,” Umut Foundation board member Ayhan Akcan told Birgün newspaper.

“Lawmakers should focus on this by seeing it as a social issue. Registering guns does not resolve the problem. You can get shot anywhere, anytime, even while you’re traveling on a public bus. It is a widespread problem,” Akcan said, adding that the police and military also want this problem to be resolved.

“If not, guns will proliferate and public safety risks will only increase,” he added.

Akcan proposed crime report lines and public service announcements against individual armament. He said security units should be formed to be tasked with preventing people from firing guns at wedding ceremonies.

According to Birgün, over 2,000 people were killed by firearms this year.

In the long run, civilians should not be allowed to own guns, Akcan added.

Turkey ranked 11th in the world in individual gun ownership, Cumhuriyet newspaper quoted Akcan as saying.

According to the newspaper, 18 percent of those individual guns are used in violence against women.

The rate of armed violence committed by individuals in Turkey increased by 28 percent in 2017 when compared with the previous year, showed a report released by Umut Foundation in January this year.

When compared with 2015, the rate of individual armed violence saw an increase by 61 percent.

In 2017, a total of 2,187 people were murdered and 3,529 people were injured in 3,494 incidents.