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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dayuhan who wrote (5950)	2/15/2001 11:15:39 PM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

<<Most people who are shot by other people are not shot in the course of an attempted robbery, or any attempted crime.>> Funny how this number is quoted while Dems are in power & distorting the numbers to take the guns but not while the Republicans are in power. The Truth will set you free.

To: Dayuhan who wrote (5950)	2/15/2001 11:48:11 PM
From: Gordon A. Langston	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Friends or relatives are the most likely killers The myth is usually based on two claims: 1) 58 percent of murder victims are killed by either relatives or acquaintances and 2) anyone could be a murderer. With the broad definition of "acquaintances" used in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, most victims are indeed classified as knowing their killer. However, what is not made clear is that acquaintance murder primarily includes drug buyers killing drug pushers, cabdrivers killed by first-time customers, gang members killing other gang members, prostitutes killed by their clients, and so on. Only one city, Chicago, reports a precise breakdown on the nature of acquaintance killings: between 1990 and 1995 just 17 percent of murder victims were either family members, friends, neighbors and/or roommates. Murderers also are not your average citizen. For example, about 90 percent of adult murderers have already had a criminal record as an adult. Murderers are overwhelmingly young males with low IQs and who have difficult times getting along with others. Furthermore, unfortunately, murder is disproportionately committed against blacks and by blacks. Answer by John R. Lott, Jr. Concealed carry should be have extensive training, legal and physical. Allowing people to carry concealed weapons in public will mean automobile accidents turn into shootouts. GunTruths responds: The reality is just the opposite. Some 32 states have liberalized their concealed carry laws. Most of them have discovered that people who are licensed to carry concealed weapons have a much lower than average arrest rate. Incidents in which people legally carrying concealed weapons have turned automobile accidents into shootouts are virtually nonexistent. In addition, the crime rate in most states which have liberalized their concealed carry laws has dropped. Further, Vermont permits any citizen to carry a concealed weapon so long as that person is not doing so for an illegal purpose. Not surprisingly, Vermont has among the lowest crime rates in the nation. In short, allowing citizens to legally carry concealed weapons makes our communities safer. Professor John R. Lott, Jr. responds: Millions of people currently hold concealed handgun permits, and some states have issued them for as long as 60 years. Yet, only one permit holder has ever been arrested for using a concealed handgun after a traffic accident and that case was ruled as self-defense. The type of person willing to go through the permitting process is extremely law-abiding. In Florida, almost 444,000 licenses were granted from 1987 to 1997, but only 84 people have lost their licenses for felonies involving firearms. Most violations that lead to permits being revoked involve accidentally carrying a gun into restricted areas, like airports or schools. In Virginia, not a single permit holder has committed a violent crime. Similarly encouraging results have been reported for Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Tennessee (the only other states where information is available). I won't argue with your anecdotal observations as I of course don't think you are a liar. They don't jibe with with my experience, however.

To: Dayuhan who wrote (5950)	2/16/2001 4:53:05 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 82486

Most people who are shot by other people are not shot in the course of an attempted robbery, or any attempted crime. Most people who get shot are shot by people they know, often by neighbors, friends, and family members. They are shot in the course of arguments, misunderstandings, and other emotional moments. Most people who are shot are shot by people they know, but rival drug dealers know each other. I'm not saying most murderers or most murder victems are drug dealers, but it does show that the "most people are killed by people they know arguement" could be true but irrelevant to the gun control issue. Most killers have commited serious crimes before. 've noticed that many people, especially those owning their first gun and those that have not been properly trained in firearms use, undergo a definite personality change when they are packing a piece. Their natural caution goes to the winds. They feel invincible. They go places they wouldn't otherwise go, and they force arguments where they would normally back down. I think if I bought and carried around a gun I would be more cautious, except possibly in the case of resisting an attack on me. I never get in to fights (except for controled sparing matches, or pushing my 12 year old brother away when he jumped on my back to annoy me, I havn't been in a fight in about 23 years), but I think I would be more careful not to if I was carrying a gun, because of the potential for someone to get shot. I would be more likely to resist a violent attack perhaps but otherwise I would be very consious of the deadly intsrament I was carrying and I would be reluctant to use it. The only time I was carrying a gun around with any regularity was at basic training but that really is a different situation then what you are talking about. (For one thing we didn't have ammo except when we where at the range). Tim