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Gun control vs. the right to bear arms

Naomi ConradJanuary 7, 2013

Recent shooting sprees have prompted renewed discussion over weapons. DW takes an in-depth look at the debate on gun ownership, weapons sales and violence, focusing on differing policies in the US and Germany.

https://p.dw.com/p/17F6N
Rifles collected by LAPD Gun buyback program sticking out of trash bin
Image: JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images

"The American God of arms is insatiable," one Italian newspaper wrote following the shooting of 27 people - the majority grade-school children - in Newtown in the United States this past December. In early January of this year, a man killed three on a shooting spree in a small village in the Swiss Alps.

The violence has triggered a debate on gun ownership, weapons sales and violence. DW examines which countries are sticking to their guns when it comes to the right to bear arms - and which, like Germany, are restricting domestic gun ownership laws - yet have few qualms about arms exports.

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