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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dale Baker who wrote (107729)	4/5/2009 5:08:48 PM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 541008

Here we go, what % of homicides in the US are caused by firearms? Looks like 70%. Nothing like having a gun handy when you get the urge to cap someone. fbi.gov And about 60% of suicides too: sprc.org

To: Dale Baker who wrote (107729)	4/5/2009 6:40:38 PM
From: d[-_-]b	Respond to of 541008

It would be interesting to compare the number of violent deaths by non-gun means to gun deaths and really compare the two. Know where I could find that data? The CDC has a great deal of info on their web site but they don't break it down like that. See my other post about how the prevalence of guns in households will almost certainly increase the level of deaths. So does having alcohol - but no one ever blames that, they say he was drunk and shot his wife - evil guns. The trouble with blaming tools and not people is it distracts from the core issue. The unstable person should be treated and of course firearms and drugs (kitchen knives?) of all kinds should be restricted and they should be monitored. However, taking away the rights of 100's of millions over a few thousands of criminals is wrong. With more people killed by drunk drivers I see no alarmists for prohibition with signs and slogans. Seems we never report those numbers very often because it's so common and no one "really" cares - gun crime in families is sensational precisely because it happens so rarely - like bird flu cases - eeck it's bird flu - run - look out it's a mad cow, flesh eating bacteria - stay at home. The media is classic for "if it bleeds it leads."

To: Dale Baker who wrote (107729)	4/5/2009 7:07:08 PM
From: d[-_-]b	Respond to of 541008

Know where I could find that data? It goes a long way to link suicide in homes to guns - which is pretty obvious and for the serious ones - effective - again I don't have an issue with people that want to kill themselves by using effective tools for the job as long as they leave the rest of us alone and don't shoot their family in the process. aje.oxfordjournals.org The conclusion is interesting: Much of the debate in the literature has focused on the risks and benefits of gun ownership in terms of lives saved versus lives harmed. Studies of defensive gun use suggest that millions of defensive gun use incidents occur each year by people to protect themselves or their property against assaults, theft, or break-ins (30, 31). However, guns are also involved in unintentional firearm shootings and domestic altercations in the home and are the primary method used in suicides in the United States (1, 32). The body of research to date, including the findings of this study, shows a strong association between guns in the home and risk of suicide. The findings for homicide, while showing an elevated risk, have consistently been more modest. They suggest a need for more research to better distinguish the risk and protective factors associated with guns in the home, including an examination of the risk posed by forces both internal and external to the home.