Stats and analysis on gun issues

[Wounded Bear]

When Gandhi was asked about Western Civilization, he said, "I think it would be a good idea."




(Take that, Griz)

[Breed]

oh ok thanks.
Somehow, none of that was ever considered before you posted.

I'll go run out and get one now. laters.

I laughed.

The "laters" sentence was a really nice touch.

[lechrus2]

Surely you have a number of examples in mind?

Of course, the examples are well-chronicled in armed-citizen forums. Here's a source that contains a summary of a handful.

[Canada]

is there a gun issue in the US......well there is ??? threads on it in one form or another.

just sayin....

[AndromedaPatFan]

Of course, the examples are well-chronicled in armed-citizen forums. Here's a source that contains a summary of a handful.

Interesting link. It cites a few of the cases in my post, plus three others in a 17 year period, plus 2 other highly debatable ones (the guy who is said to have been driving from one murder site to another and was shot dead -- how do they know that and how do they know a cop wouldn't have stopped him?). Based on that, it concludes:

The truth is that every single day mass murders are averted by armed civilian

If you have 5-10,000 examples total, why for your core list use ones so dubious as "Stopped an armed robbery in which people MIGHT have died?".

[griz]

Trigger locks. Gun safe. Problem solved. Responsibility means having a smarter parent than the smart 2 year old.

It goes against the 2nd amendment to suggest someone needs to be smarter than a 2-year-old to own a gun.

[AndromedaPatFan]

Tunisia ... had the lowest firearm ownership rate in the world (one gun per thousand citizens, compared to America's 890) when its people toppled a brutal, 24-year dictatorship and sparked the Arab Spring.

http://www.theatlantic.com/internati...deaths/260189/

[Superbelt]

Running total of US Gun Deaths since Newtown.

linky dinky
Includes details if you click on the individuals. Like 2 year old Sincere, who accidentally shot himself on Christmas.

Current total: 409.

[Nunchuckz]

The real problem with all the safety measures that people take to keep their guns secure is that people are fallible, humans make mistakes and it only takes one moment of forgetfulness or distraction for disaster to occur.

You can say that you always lock up your gun or that it is always safe, but you are a human being and you will make a mistake. I know that with absolute certainty. Lets hope that mistake is not fatal.

[The Cryin Lion]

Meanwhile, here is some anecdotal evidence on armed civilians stopping gun rampages -- it doesn't happen.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/...mass-shootings

Andromeda,

I saw that mother jones piece flying around on forums and I got to tell you, it's an absolute train wreck of a piece.

If you want to find stats on defensive uses of firearms you should look into Gary Kleck, not Mother Goose.

[DonMan]

The real problem with all the safety measures that people take to keep their guns secure is that people are fallible, humans make mistakes and it only takes one moment of forgetfulness or distraction for disaster to occur.

You can say that you always lock up your gun or that it is always safe, but you are a human being and you will make a mistake. I know that with absolute certainty. Lets hope that mistake is not fatal.

The key is to have multiple levels of safety. For example, if you keep your gun unloaded and locked up, and keep the ammunition locked in a separate location with a different key, that greatly reduces the chances of an incident.

[AndromedaPatFan]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/su...e-killing.html

Some were killed by the robbers’ bullets and some by gun-carrying passengers.

After a gruesome mass murder in 1996 provoked public outrage, Australia enacted stricter gun laws, including a 28-day waiting period before purchase and a ban on semiautomatic weapons. Before then, Australia had averaged one mass shooting a year. Since, rates of both homicide and suicide have dropped 50 percent, and there have been no mass killings, said Ms. Peters, who lobbied for the legislation.

Bogotá’s new mayor, Gustavo Petro, has forbidden residents to carry weapons on streets, in cars or in any public space since last February, and the murder rate has dropped 50 percent to a 27-year low.

[ForWhoForWhat?]

no, no, it couldn't possibly work.