19 children and 2 teachers were killed in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday: Here are 5 countries that have taken radical steps to eliminate firearm deaths

On May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old man killed 21 people, 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas.

The Texas shooting happened just 10 days after a man opened fire at a supermarket in New York, killing 10 people in what authorities are calling a racially motivated hate crime.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, the US has had over 200 mass shootings in the last four years.

Questions about gun control are being asked as shootings like these continue in the US. Americans who fear their town or city could be the site of the next attack wonder what strategies the US could take to reduce gun violence.

No country has the same political structure or history with firearms as the US, but several have taken steps that have worked for them. Some insights from other nations into how gun violence could be reduced.

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The 1996 shooting that left 35 dead in Australia led to the formation of an assembly to come up with gun-control strategies.

More than 600,000 automatic and semiautomatic weapons and pump-action shotguns were bought and destroyed as a result of the group landing on a massive buy back program.

The gun-death totals were halved over the next few years. firearm suicides dropped to 0.8 per 100,000 people in 2006 from 2.2 in 1995, while firearm homicides dropped to 0.15 per 100,000 people in 2006 from 0.37 in 1995.

A US gun buy back would destroy more than 40 million guns, but at the state level, it might not be that big of a deal.

Eric Talmadge/AP Images

In a population of 127 million people, Japan rarely has more than 10 shooting deaths a year.

If a Japanese person wants to own a gun, they must attend an all-day class, pass a written test, and achieve at least 85% accuracy on a shooting-range test.

Then they have to pass a mental-health evaluation at a hospital, as well as a background check, in which the government digs into any criminal records or ties and interviews friends and family members.

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Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

Compared with the US, Norway has a lower rate of gun deaths per 100,000 people.

Sociologists who study the Nordic model found that social cohesion between citizens and the government goes a long way towards ensuring a mostly peaceful society.

The number of fatal shootings by police in Norway in the past nine years was less than the number of fatal shootings by US police officers in a single day.

Gummi Oddsson, a sociologist from Northern Michigan University, has found that Nordic governments go to great lengths to build trust in local communities.

He told Business Insider that US states could look to strengthen a sense of trust through measures like community policing.

People will feel safer around the police, who will have a better understanding of the neighborhood, and be able to address problems before they happen.

Reuters/Andrew Yates

The UK's approach is similar to those of Norway, Australia and Japan.

Legislation banning private ownership of handguns in Britain and banning semiautomatic and pump-action firearms throughout the UK was passed around when Australia adopted its gun regulations. It required shotgun owners to register their weapons.

A $200 million program led to the government buying 162,000 guns and 700 tons of bullets from citizens.

The US is estimated to have 101 guns per 100 people, while the UK is estimated to have 3.78 guns per 100 people.

In England and Wales, there have been roughly 50 to 60 gun deaths a year. The US has more than 160 times the number of gun-related homicides as that country.

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

New Zealand instituted a ban on semi-automatic rifles after a mass shooting left 51 people dead and dozens more injured in March 2019. The mosques were targeted by a white supremacist who used semi-automatic weapons.

On 15 March, our history changed forever. New Zealand's Prime Minister said in a press conference that her country's gun laws will be strengthened.

The ban was announced six days after the attack. According to The New Zealand Herald, over 12,000 people handed in almost 20,000 firearms and 75,000 parts, with the equivalent of $23 million US dollars paid out. According to the Associated Press, 132,000 parts and 36,000 weapons had been collected as of November 10.

The influential gun lobby has helped to kill other gun control legislation in the US.

Gregory Koger, a University of Miami political science professor, told Insider that there is no organization of gun owners and gun companies that oppose regulations of guns.

On November 11, New Zealand proposed a ban on criminals being in the vicinity of guns, for example at home, at work, or in a vehicle. According to the Associated Press, this ban would allow warrantless searches by police.

The freedom to associate with other people and the right to be presumed innocent are some of the human rights that New Zealand law raises questions about.

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