Report with video
Of course the pro-gun argument was based on an incredible lie: between half-a-million and 3 million times a year a gun is used in self defense.
The truth is, more guns are stolen each year than the number of true DGUs. Also, more guns are used in crime each year than the true number of DGUs.
No matter how you slice it, guns do not make you safer, not in the home, not on your person, nowhere.
One of the people commenting on the article put it quite well,
ReplyDelete"Quite simple. A gun in the home makes some people safer, and others less safe. Human beings are not fungible goods., perfectly interchangeable with one another. "
I don't think that's a very astute comment. I'm surprised you do. What it boils down to is this: the possibility of using a gun to save the day is much less likely than the possibility that the gun will be misused in some way.
DeleteEven the most conservative estimate of all DGUs (500,000) puts it at being higher than all violent crimes committed with guns which is around 300,000 each year give or take.
Deletehttp://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2013/06/handguns_suicides_mass_shootings_deaths_and_self_defense_findings_from_a.html
Read it and weep.
Anthony, you're cherry-picking your sources. The "most conservative" estimate of DGUs is certainly much lower than 500,000. And the consensus of articles about gun crime says 500,000 not 300,000.
DeletePlus, the DGU estimates always include brandishings and shooting at snakes and every other action that can in any way be construed as a defensive act. Not so with gun crime stats since most incidents of gun misuse go unreported. The result is that gun misuse is far more prevalent than defensive gun use.
Mikeb, you reject estimates for defensive gun uses, but you accept estimates for how many guns are stolen. That's because you only support results of equally valid studies when they reach your opinions.
ReplyDeleteConservative estimates of guns stolen added to conservative estimates of other forms of gun misuse added to hard stats of crimes committed with guns combines to outweigh ANY estimates of DGUs.
DeleteWe've been through this many times. An estimate is reasonable to you only if it agrees with your narrative. Witness your fifty percent nonsense as an example.
DeleteDo you advocate that cops should not carry guns?
ReplyDeleteNo, but I do think cops need to be better trained and more strictly held accountable for their fuck-ups.
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