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{Editor’s note: this is a good follow-up Ken Stuczynski‘s article questioning the use of statistics in the gun control issue.  Another article by Bob Hubbard on this subject can be found here.}

100,728 People a Year in the US, Dead because of guns? Ban Them!

There is a graphic floating around on Facebook, pushed by the Gun Control folks.
It compares US and other nations on gun related deaths, and of course the US is way ahead. One problem, the statistics listed are 32 years old. But who ever lets a little thing like current data get in their way eh?

Lets use some though.

There are approximately 40 MILLION legal and lawful citizens in the US who own an estimated 140 MILLION legal and lawful guns.
We’re not sure how many criminals have guns because they tend to not respond to polls, and don’t register them for tally.

The graphic floating around from 1980 states 10,728 people were killed by guns in the US.  Sounds like a lot, until you realize the US population is around 309 Million.  More people are killed by cars, accidents and disease. The Anti-Gunners will make it sound like the US is a free for all, but actual government crime statistics show gun crime is constantly higher in areas where strict gun controls are in place, and consistently lower where lawful obtainment is easier. Also most of your sensational shoot em ups occur in so called “gun-free” zones. These are facts, look them up yourself.

OK. Time for statistics. Because,” it’s for the Children”

Selected Causes of Death, Ages 0-19, per 100,000 Population (2007)
Cause Number of Deaths Mortality Rate
Natural 36,272 44.1
Perinatal Conditions 14,570 17.7
Congenital Anomalies 6,896 8.4
Neoplasms 2,302 2.8
Respiratory Disease 1,442 1.8
Circulatory Disease 1,666 2.0
Nervous System Disease 1,609 2.0
SIDS 2,453 3.0
Unintentional Injury 11,560 14.0
Motor Vehicle 6,683 8.1
Drowning 1,056 1.3
Fire/Burn 544 0.7
Poisoning 972 1.2
Suffocation/Strangulation 1,263 1.5
Firearm 138 0.2
Homicide 3,345 4.1
Firearm 2,186 2.7
Suicide 1,665 2.0
Firearm 683 0.8
Suffocation/Strangulation 739 0.9
Poisoning 133 0.2
Source: National Center for Health Statistics
Rates based on 20 or fewer deaths may be unstable. Use with caution.
http://www.childdeathreview.org/nati…talitydata.htm

firearms according to this data from 2007 are responsible for 3.7/100000 deaths.
So 40,000,000+ people should be deprived of their rights because 3,007 kids died?
Really?

1,000 drown. Do we ban pools?
6,600 died by car. Do we ban cars?

It’s tragic when a child dies, I have friends who have lost kids, I have nothing but sympathy for them, but depriving the majority of their rights and means of self defense because a few people abuse them is stupid.

United States
Child Mortality, 2007
Number and Rate of Child Deaths, per 100,000 Population (2007)
Total Child Population Number of Child Deaths Child Mortality Rate
(Ages 0-19)
82,304,668 53,287 64.7
Infant Mortality Number and Rate, per 1,000 Live Births (2007)
Number of Live Births Number of Infant Deaths Infant Mortality Rate
(Ages 0-1)
4,273,543 29,138 6.8

Lets take this 1 stat at a time.
Accidental Deaths: 138
138 kids found a loaded gun and shot themselves, or someone else.
That’s 138 guns out of 140 million that were left where kids could get them.
Lets outlaw gas stoves because you left yours on and your kid burned his hand. Never mind the millions that do no harm every day.
How about this: punish the irresponsible idiots who left their guns unsecured. In some cases, they already have been punished as it was their gun and their kid. Knowing you ****ed up and your kid died is one of the worst pains there is.

Homicides: 2,186
That’s 2,186 kids who illegally gained possession of a gun which they then used for illegal purposes.
That means that 140 million other guns and 40 million responsible law abiding gun owners continued to obey the law.
See that word, illegal? It means they were breaking the law. Which means more laws don’t matter.
How did they get the guns? Focus on that.
Why did they kill? Focus on that.
Gangs, discontent, and so forth are the leading forces there according to the experts at the CDC.

Suicide: 683
Few things sadden me more than when anyone takes their own life. I’ve lost friends and peers that way. I’m not ashamed to admit there have been times I’ve been so low as to consider it myself. (Lest anyone worry, I’m fine).
These 683 kids who ended their lives before they really began are tragic. Again though, how did they get the guns? Who was irresponsible in securing them? Were they obtained illegally? Why did they feel so lost that they saw death as the only fix?
Each one was a tragedy. But 683 out of 83,000,000 is not a large number.

How do you fix this?
Educate gun owners on safe storage and safe handling of firearms.
Educate kids on the dangers of playing with -any- weapon, and safe handling of them.
Harsher penalties for misuse, abuse, and irresponsibility.
Deal with the gangs, the causes of the increase in gangs, the disillusionment, the discontent.
Educate parents to better see the signs of depression, help them to get their kids proper help.

You don’t fix it by punishing the overwhelming majority of responsible lawful gun owners.
You don’t fix it by over reacting.
You don’t fix it by disarming people and creating a situation where criminals know they have the upper hand.

According to a 2000 survey, everyday 550 rapes, 1,100 murders, and 5,200 other violent crimes are prevented simply by the presence of a firearm. In less that 0.9% of these instances is the gun ever fired. (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2000, Bureau of Justice Statistics, BATF estimates on handgun supply).

So to save 3,000 kids, 200,000 women need to be raped? 401,000 others need to die? Almost 2 million violent crimes need to be allowed to happen?

ok, maybe that numbers way off. So let me rephrase it.
To save 3,000 kids, 1 woman should have no choice but be raped?

If that’s not what is being said, then what IS the fix that will save those 3,000 kids, and that woman? When a woman was armed with a gun or a knife during an attempted rape, only 3% of the rapes actually were completed. (U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Rape Victimization in 26 American Cities, 1979)

According to a 2000 survey, everyday 550 rapes, 1,100 murders, and 5,200 other violent crimes are prevented simply by the presence of a firearm. In less that 0.9% of these instances is the gun ever fired. (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2000, Bureau of Justice Statistics, BATF estimates on handgun supply).

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2009 3,007 children died either accidentally, committed suicide or were murdered by guns.

Now here is a question:
To save 3,007 kids a year, how many women is ok to allow to be raped because they were denied access to a means of self-defense?

The Liberal argument is “Its for the children”. Tugs at the heart it does. Makes you look bad if you argue, after all how heartless are you to argue against childrens safety or health. Flip it around and you’re the clueless idiot, the naive fool, the uneducated buffoon. Guns are dangerous. They are deadly. They are intended to kill. That is an undeniable fact. Kids are dying and guns are the methods. Undeniable. But it’s also a proven fact that guns are used daily in self defense. In another argument I believe the number of suicides by guns were around 700 a year involving kids. Remove guns from that, and you will save some of those kids. Lets say half. 350 kids will live if easy gun access were removed. But to remove that gun access you have to remove them from millions of law abiding citizens hands. The statistics I posted were old, out of date, and questionable. But it is a fact that guns save lives. So lets be conservative here.

Is saving 1 childs life at the cost of 1 adult life worth it?
Is saving 1 childs life at the cost of 1 woman being raped worth it?

It’s a simple question. It’s a yes or no question.

If you answer no, you’re of course a heartless bastard. If you answer yes, you’re pro-rape. Kobyashi Maru questions. Gotta love them.

I have a reputation as a heartless bastard, a clueless idiot, a naive fool, and an uneducated buffoon. So I’ll answer it.

If I have to choose between my life and some strangers kid…sorry kid. I’ll keep my means of self defense and hope you make better choices or have good parents.
If I have to choose between my wife being beaten, raped and sodomized and your kid, sucks to be your kid. I love my wife more than I care about your kid.
If I have to choose between my wife and yours, I’m choosing mine. You take care of yours.

If that makes me anti-kid in anyones eyes, well, I’ve been called quite a few things already.

If a meager 10 people a day are legally using legally obtained firearms to defend against or prevent violent crimes and sex attacks, that 3,000 is on par with the 3,000 the anti-gun folks want to save.

I’m using small numbers here. The official numbers are quite a bit higher. If you think my numbers are wrong, use the official ones. Then tell me how 3,000 > 100,000.

{Related article with informative graph: Gun Rights in Aurora’s Aftermath}