Steven Riczo

Steven Riczo is director of ambulatory operations at the University Hospitals Health System in Beachwood, Ohio. In the following viewpoint he maintains that the United States has the highest gun homicide rate of any developed nation because Americans have the highest gun ownership rate of any developed nation. Riczo argues that guns are used in homicides, suicides, and unintentional shootings much more often than they are used in self-defense, and he concludes that gun ownership is a major factor behind violent crime. To reduce gun crime and violence, he writes, Americans must embrace rational gun control policies, such as licensing of gun owners and registration of firearms.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Approximately how many guns does the author say that Americans own?
2. According to FBI data, what percentage of violent-crime victims use a firearm to...