For years now, the so-called "success" of foreign gun control has
 been trumpeted loudly by home-grown gun prohibitionists and their
 media allies. The goal has been to convince the gullible that anti-gun
 schemes have reduced crime and brought about a better quality of life
 in countries such as England and Australia.

   A new international crime victimization survey of 34,000 people in
 17 industrialized countries puts the lie to such claims. The results
 of the 2000 International Crime Victims Survey (ICVS) were recently
 published by the Dutch Ministry of Justice, and anti-gun politicians,
 including those in Great Britain, are diving for cover.

   According io The Economist, the survey results "are deeply
 embarrassing to a government which has promised to be tough on crime
 and the causes of crime." The Economist further reports that the
 British Home Office, which cooperated on the English part of the
 survey, says "it has no plans to publish the findings."

   The ICVS reveals that the dubious distinction of leading the world
 in violent crime belongs to Australia--not the United Stares as
 Handgun Control, Inc., and others would have Americans believe. In
 fact, the U.S. finishes behind several countries with extremely
 restrictive gun control laws, including England, Scotland, France and
 even the Netherlands, where you will remember from previous reports
 that government bureaucrats are demanding that people turn in baseball
 bats and anything else that can be used as a weapon.

   All of the countries ranking worse than the U.S. in critical
 categories have placed severe restrictions on the right to keep and
 bear arms. The result is obvious: Criminals have become emboldened by
 the knowledge that their victims can't defend themselves, and the
 result is a more dangerous society. Conversely, Switzerland, which has
 a very high rate of gun ownership, finishes better than the U.S. in
 every category.

   Experts who have analyzed the data have suggested numerous reasons
 why certain countries have higher levels of victimization, but one 
 conclusion remains clear: guns do not cause crime. A case in point is
 Australia where the percentage victimized by crime has risen since
 1988 when politicians began enacting the Draconian gun control laws
 that have resulted in the confiscation and destruction of thousands of
 personally owned firearms.

   Today, Australia leads the world in overall victimizaton, burglary
 and violent crime. This is a gun control "success" story that the U.S.
 media elite, like their political counterparts in Britain, will no
 doubt prefer to ignore.