----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Seeberger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2003 6:48 PM Subject: Re: Most Dangerous States
> Well, there are 50 or 60 million gunowners in the US. > Compared to those numbers the number of "rage" killings is pretty minute. But, just under half of murders with a known cause are murders during arguements. The majority of these involved a gun. That comes to >3000 gun induced deaths that resulted from an arguement. > "Rage" killings are still a small fraction of "reported" defense uses too. But, how about documented defense uses? The difficulty I have with reported defense use is that, if true, the crime rate against gun owners should be far lower than against non-gun owners. The claim for defense is higher than the total reported number of violent crimes, by a factor of two. Even if you agree that the total number of violent crimes is twice this, then its still only equal. Further, I'd argue that domestic violence and sexual abuse are the least likely to be reported. Guns in the home are really not a good solution for that type of problem. Indeed, it is likely that most violent crimes are domestic. I can do the #s if you like. Now, you could argue that the defense numbers reflected people using guns to stop crimes against property. There are, indeed, more than two million crimes against property. However, we both know that the vast majority of burgluries do not involve the potential for a confrontation between the owner and the thief. Further, when there is a confrontation, there has to be a number of times when the thief is also armed. Maybe you can scale up the won shootouts a factor of 10 or even 20, but I don't think it is reasonable to assume that there are hundreds of intruders who simply run away for every one who makes a stand. Reported gun defenses can be a very soft number..especially when touted by a pro-gun group. I'd really like to see the details of the analysis. Does it include people knowing that the noise in the bushes was a robber who was scared off by a gun? The question I am arguing is the handgun in the drawer for protection, not the hunting rifle that's safely stored. There is no evidence that the handgun in the drawer does any good. There is considerable evidence that it contributes to a significant number of deaths per year. Dan M _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
