When you assert that 20% of the "gun crime" last year was committed with 60 Million lawfully owned firearms, you are wrong. Context has nothing to do with it.
It also says: "For example, if gun ownership raises the risk of suicide, homicide, or the use of weapons by those who invade the homes of gun owners, this could cancel or outweigh the beneficial effects of defensive gun use (Kellermann et al., 1992, 1993, 1995)." Using surveys to measure defensive gun use is problematic anyway. Unless there was a proper police investigation it's impossible to verify someone's claim about having used a gun in legally justifiable self defense. Furthermore, Kellermann found that residents of a home where a gun is kept are more likely to be murdered. People can claim what they want to in a survey but if their answers are contradicted by what happens in the real world then I have a hard time taking them seriously.
30k or so deaths including suicides accidents and justifiable homicides, 500,000k at min projection. What are numbers? How do they work?
500,000 cases of self defense? But you guys are still more likely to be murdered. A lot of good all those cases of "self defense" are doing you. LOL.
If your wife was home alone at night and men broke into your house, would you rather that she had a gun or didn't have a gun?
A woman is far more likely to be shot by her husband. In most cases she'd be better off if a gun were not kept at home.
So you're saying that if your wife was home alone at night and men broke into your house, you would rather she be unarmed rather than have a gun?
And even with your gun ban they sneak firearms into your prisons. I'll take my chances with the gun ownership, you do whatever it is you do on your shitty, rainy little island.
In that very unlikely situation it might be good to have a gun, but 99.9% of the time it's better to be unarmed. Guns raise the risk of homicide, suicide, injury and accidents.
So if your wife were home alone at night and men broke into your house, you would rather she be unarmed rather than have a gun. Yeah. Me too.
@Gallileo, so if your wife were at home alone at night and men broke into your house, you would rather her have a gun than be unarmed, right? You'd rather there be a "gun presence"?
Have you ever considered the UK's gun violence rate is lower because there are less violent criminals there? Do you factor in any variable in your conclusion? Do crimes with airguns toy guns and replica guns get counted as gun crime in the US?
Good, I hope I never have to use my gun for self defense. I would rather have to do that than be harmed. If making people follow laws is so important, support more funding for apprehending and convicting criminals. Laws restricting gun ownership wouldn't do a damned thing to support that. if anything it would tie up courts prosecuting people for possession of fire arms.
It is a very serious problem but I don't think law abiding gun owners are part of it. at least half of these deaths are suicide. the problem there is not ownership of a gun. suicide existed before guns did. the problem there is a person suffering with depression. This can have a whole host of causes, not one would be some shmoo on the internet legally owning a gun. Of the half of those deaths left many of them are gang related. This problem isn't because of law abiding gun owners. it again is a problem with a lot of causes. A hand full of these deaths are accidental, self defense, or some random act of violence. Restricting gun ownership likely won't do much for these either. People who are careless will still be careless. People who kill others in self defense should never be restricted, it is instinctual to defend yourself or your loved ones. and whackos that go on a rampage killing people can use other more effective means such as bombs which can be fabricated using crap you find at the hardware store, or they can rent or buy vehicles and drive them into people. how many Americans are killed everyday in accidents? how about heart disease? If this is about saving lives why focus on just lives ended by firearm? if it is just about people owning guns, you should be ashamed of yourself for using someone's tragedy to score political points in your sick twisted game.
Gun ownership does not raise the risk of suicide, unless you can show a case where a non suicidal person was compelled to kill themselves because of the presence of a gun. depression increases the risk of suicide. Gun ownership does not raise the risk of homicide, again unless you can show me an otherwise normal person driven to commit unlawful killing by sole virtue of a gun being present. Sorry, it doesn't outweigh the beneficial effects of defensive gun use. The ability to defend one's self with force such as what a gun can provide cannot be measured against a defenseless person. having force options such as fire arms always outweighs having none. Defensive gun use can simply be carrying a gun. If you do, and you train with it and are competent, you no doubt appear to be more alert more observant and more confident. A potential assailant wouldn't pick such a target. So I could argue, Just caring it is defensive use. think about it this way, how often do people attempt to mug police officers when they are in uniform? I would prefer to take my chances. I should be allowed that ability. tactical advantage over begging for my loved ones to be spared wins out every time regardless of odds.
Factually incorrect. The work of Arthur Kellermann found the above only applied in the homes of those who were actively engaged in illegal behavior, such as domestic violence, illicit substances abuse, substance trafficking, and other related activities. Furthermore, Arthur Kellermann admitted to including deaths in the final tally where the deceased was not shot, but rather was murdered by other means.
Utter bovine excrement. That is the corrupt falsehood promulgated by those who want to believe that being a sheep is morally superior to taking responsibility for their own lives. As for my household, my wife has 16 years of security experience and is expert certified in firearms. She's tough, smart, and ruthless when she has to be... and almost as good a shot as I am. I have no qualms about her capabilities should any scumbag make the fatal error of invading my home.
Being armed has saved my life more than once for me... batting 100% so far. I am not the only one, I know of at least 4 others posting here with successful episodes as well. Not worth speculating my odds if I went unarmed, because it is likely I’d already be dead.
Why? By your phrasing you’ve already signaled a bias toward disbelief and I am not in the business of convincing you of my ‘story’, particularly, given you aren’t equipped with experience to ferret the likelyhood of the accuracy of anything I have posted.
