Surely, Jon, you have better taste and selectivity than to post stuff of such dubious merit.
It has merit as a piece that is now being widely circulated, thereby contributing to framing the issues. I do not defend it in detail.
However, I do think that the numbers of lives saved by firearms greatly exceeds the number lost, by a much larger margin than a factor of five. However, most of the saves are not the result of any display or use of a firearm at all, at least not during a confrontation. It is based on the deterrent effect of a general expectation that potential victims might be armed. That model can be supported by the statistics of the incidence of firearm violence between two rival gangs as a transition occurs from one gang being much more heavily armed than the other, to a situation of approximate parity. Conversations I have had with actual gang members (who can be remarkably candid), indicates, anecdotally, that as the less-heavily-armed gang becomes better armed, and takes out a few of its rivals, further violence is chilled and becomes less likely. If it gets intense enough, the rivals will often make a truce and agree to join in turning on people who aren't armed yet. It is just predators figuring the odds, and they are amazingly open about it.
More people involved in these discussions should get out and meet the people actually involved in the violence. You might learn something. Of course, you had probably better go armed when you do. If you don't, and they realize it, they might suddenly go from seeing you as someone deserving of respect to seeing you as prey.
And never wonder where all this violence is coming from. It is coming from producing large numbers of essentially feral children. They can be charming in social situations, but they can also kill you on a whim, if they think they can do so safely. Most middle-class professionals only see glimpses of such people in the movies.
-- Jon
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