http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_arms_proliferation Wikipedia describes the Small Arms Survey as an organization advocating the control of small arms -- it isn't just a survey of small arms performed by someone. The organization isn't a balanced source of information as their mission statement shows (http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/sas/about/mission.html ) by their statement "The proliferation of small arms and light weapons represents a grave threat to human security". This statement makes clear their organization couldn't see arms in the context of preserving security.
In 2006, Chapt. 8 of their annual survey (http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/sas/publications/yearb2006.html ) discussed costs of small arms violence ("gun violence") in terms the Brady organization members would appreciate. They present costs of violence from small arms with no context (i.e., showing how those costs fit with other costs such as accidents from automobiles) and they present no benefits from small arms (e.g., costs of lives saved, property preserved). A news article based on Small Arms Survey reporting (see http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=f01a6721-349d -42ff-b8f1-323cdfd746ab ) says: The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released yesterday said. . . . India had the world's second-largest civilian gun arsenal, with an estimated 46 million firearms outside law enforcement and the military, though this represented just four guns per 100 people there. China, ranked third with 40 million privately held guns, had three firearms per 100 people. Germany, France, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil and Russia were next in the ranking of country's overall civilian gun arsenals. On a per-capita basis, Yemen came second behind the U.S., with 61 guns per 100 people, followed by Finland with 56, Switzerland with 46, Iraq with 39 and Serbia with 38. France, Canada, Sweden, Austria and Germany were next, each with about 30 guns per 100 people, while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower. Nigeria, for instance, had just one gun per 100 people. The statements of this article seem to show the huge cognitive dissonance suffered by many on the Brady side of gun control since the article admits "many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower" in the count of guns per 100 persons, but the authors would react negatively to an alternative phrasing of "more guns, less violence". I haven’t examined the methodology used by the Small Arms Survey, but their operations and reporting I did examine indicate they do not perform honest and objective analyses. Phil -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Guy Smith Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2007 4:47 PM To: 'List Firearms Reg' Subject: Small Arms Survey critique? Before I burn research time, are there any reasoned critiques of the “Small Arms Survey” produced by the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva? Specifically has any of the methodology or conclusions been questioned? Yours in Liberty Guy Smith Author, Gun Facts [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.GunFacts.info <http://www.GunFacts.info> No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.485 / Virus Database: 269.13.13/998 - Release Date: 9/10/2007 8:48 AM
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