Supreme Ct Made it Plain, 'People Have a Right To Carry Guns in Public For Self Defense,' But Liberals Make It Impossible To Do So in the Virgin Islands (76% Black) which Has Highest Murder Rate in US
/Accessories to Crime. From [HERE] The United States Virgin Islands exists as a United States territory. As an entity that is not a state, it has higher rates of homicide than any state. The homicide rates for the US Virgin Islands are about 7.8 times as high as the average homicide rate for the United States. It has one of the highest illegal homicide rates in the world.
Extreme restrictions on the ownership and use of firearms in the US Virgin Islands are more restrictive than in any state since the implementation of the Bruen decision by the Supreme Court. The Bruen decision was published on June 22, 2022. Some states have resisted and passed very restrictive firearms laws. However, those states have a defined process. From southerndefense.com:
The US Virgin Islands has extremely strict gun laws. A permit and waiting periods accompany all firearm transactions. Once in a person’s possession, it is almost always illegal to carry that firearm in public either openly or concealed, and as of this writing, there are no good, governmental sources for even begging a firearms permit application. Calling a local attorney for guidance will be a must given the long sentences the territorial laws have for violating its opaque firearms laws.
The territory is about 12.9% of the size of Rhode Island, with about 7.9% of the population of Rhode Island. It is 76% Black.
The United States Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917 during the First World War. An act of Congress gave U.S. citizenship to the inhabitants in 1927.
The number of homicides in the Virgin Islands in a given year was found in several sources, primarily stcroixsource.com and sthomasssource.com. Population for the Virgin Islands was from the US census and worldometers.info.
The average homicide rate for the United States Virgin Islands from 1999 to 2023 is 40.6.
The average homicide rate for the United States from 1999 to 2023 is 5.21. The U.S. Virgin Islands rate is 7.79 times higher than the United States rate over the last 25 years, for which records could be found.
Hawaii has fairly similar firearms laws to those of the United States Virgin Islands. Homicide rates in Hawaii are considerably lower than the average in the United States. Hawaii homicide numbers were not found for 2022 and 2023. The average homicide rate from 1999 – 2021 was 2.16. Puerto Rico is another island jurisdiction with strong firearms restrictions. Puerto Rico homicide rates are less than half of those in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
US Virgin Island Homicide rates are among the highest in the world. Firearms restrictions have no correlation to overall homicide rates.
If someone tells you firearm restrictions reduce murder rates in Hawaii, tell them about the US Virgin Islands. Similar firearms laws exist in both sets of Islands. Homicide rates in the Virgin Islands are 19 times larger.