Half of Turkish men own gun, says foundation

Duvar English

The Umut (Hope) Foundation Board Member Dr. Ayhan Akcan has stated that half of Turkish adult men own a gun.

Akcan told Demirören News Agency that there are approximately four million licensed guns in Turkey. 

“There are nine times that amount of illegal weapons. It is thought that there are close to 36 million weapons unregistered (in Turkey). This means one out of two adult men, one out of three households. There is also an increase in gun-related crimes,” Akcan said. 

He said while guns were used in 50 percent of murder cases 10 years ago, this figure increased to 85 percent today. “20 percent of them are used in domestic violence (today).”

“In Turkey, nearly 5,000 people are killed with guns in a year. We find that both gun-related crimes and the number of gun acquisitions increase by 3.5 percent every year,” Akcan said.

As a solution, Akcan offered to limit the number of weapon acquisitions, which “is currently infinite.”

“95 percent of gun-owners are men, two-thirds are under the age of 40. Most importantly, 70 percent of the owners say they carry a gun as a deterrent. This also poses a significant risk. In other words, the gun invites violence. If you have a gun, you are five times more likely to be killed,” Akcan added.

The foundation carries out studies for the prevention of individual armament.

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