I doubt that 5 to 6k means "5 to 6k times shots were fired". I defenitly also means all those cases, where someone showed the thug his gun and the thug decided to look for another victim and live to see it.ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo
ORIGINAL: Historiker
What I don't like about those statistics is, that they always ignore all those countless cases where guns protected someone. I think I've read about 5.000 or 6.000 cases of use of firearms for self-protection each day in the us.ORIGINAL: Chickenboy
Nicely said, Leo.
What's surprising to me is how *low* the rate of gun-related homicide is in the US. For a country awash in guns (almost one gun per capita here), we've a low-moderate *rate* associated with it. Access has never been equal to use here, something that is a confounder for many, but does trace itself back to our 'citizen militia' roots.
Oh, bullsh!t, sir! Ive heard of those cases too and I highly doubt that they are as usual as you seem to think. Of course there have been cases where some lowlife had broken into a home and found himself looking down the barrel of a gun. I have no doubt of that. On the flip side of that equation, however, is the reality that when facing a situation of that sort, most people would hide or not resist if faced with an unknown number of possibly armed intruders rather than get into a shootout in their own house and risk harm to themselves and their family.
What is much, much more usual are cases of people who are either too drunk or too stupid to follow simple safety instructions who blow away themselves, their buddies or, very sadly, their children in accidental discharges. There was one such case in LI right before we left where the unfortunate nincompoop was a 10 year veteran of the NYPD and the victim was his 4 year old daughter.
Regarding a higher criminal rate than in Europe and around 305 to 310 million people, 5 to 6k per day doesn't seem that far off.
And of course. Too many people never recieve proper training with guns while owning one. Their children find them and play with them, they are drunk or they decide to shoot the "intruder" without warning - to find their own son lying in his blood after sneaking in from a party.
But as you are well aware, I fiercly oppose a government that usurps power to protect its people from themselves.
I was in the army, and we got almost beaten up when we held the finger on the trigger without intending to shoot, or when we pointed a gun - even an empty one - on a person. You should follow such basic rules when you own one. But some people too stupd for that doesn't justify disarming all those who are law abiding and responsible.
At least, you don't seem to plan that anyweay. [:)]
