Hey, everyone. Now, it seems to me that this wonderful forum is veritably swarming with pro-gun ownership ideologues. You know the type: fanatically individualistic, aggressively dogmatic, and absolutely convinced that a militia-grade arsenal will protect them from criminals, government agents, and possibly cancer. In short, people big on propaganda but fuzzy on actual numbers.
Thus, I have decided to list a couple fun statistics about gun ownership. Enjoy:
Of the 30,694 Americans who died by gunfire in 2005, only 147 were killed by firearms (and only 123 by handguns) in homicides by private citizens that law enforcement determined were justifiable.
In 2006, guns were the cause of the unintentional deaths of 642 people. 8% of the fatal shots were fired by children under the age of six.
Abused women are 500% more likely to be killed by the abuser if he happens to own a gun. Domestic violence assaults involving a firearm are 23 times more likely to result in death than those involving other weapons or bodily force.
Firearm-related deaths and injuries result in estimated medical costs of $2.3 billion each year – half of which are borne by U.S. taxpayers.
A California study found that in the first year after the purchase of a handgun, suicide was the leading cause of death among handgun purchasers. In the first week after the purchase of a handgun, the firearm suicide rate among the purchasers was 57 times as high as the adjusted rate in the general population.
A 1991 study documenting the effectiveness of Washington, D.C.’s law banning handguns (this law was recently repealed following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling finding it unconstitutional in District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008) found that following the enactment of the ban in 1976, there was a 25% decline in homicides committed with firearms and a 23% decline in suicides committed with firearms within the District of Columbia. No similar reductions were observed in the number of homicides or suicides committed by other means, nor were similar reductions found in the adjacent metropolitan areas in Maryland and Virginia.
An analysis of Texas’ CCW law, (a law adopted in 1995 that overturned the state’s 125-year ban on concealed weapons), found that between January 1, 1996 and August 31, 2001, Texas license holders were arrested for 5,314 crimes, including murder, rape, kidnapping and theft. From 1996 to 2000, Texas CCW holders were arrested for weapons-related crimes at a rate 81% higher than that of the state’s general population age 21 and older.
Living in a home where there is a gun increases the risk of homicide by 40 to 170% and the risk of suicide by 90 to 460%.
Nearly 80% of Mexico’s illegal firearms and most recovered crime guns in major Canadian cities are imported illegally from the U.S
Thus, I have decided to list a couple fun statistics about gun ownership. Enjoy:
Of the 30,694 Americans who died by gunfire in 2005, only 147 were killed by firearms (and only 123 by handguns) in homicides by private citizens that law enforcement determined were justifiable.
In 2006, guns were the cause of the unintentional deaths of 642 people. 8% of the fatal shots were fired by children under the age of six.
Abused women are 500% more likely to be killed by the abuser if he happens to own a gun. Domestic violence assaults involving a firearm are 23 times more likely to result in death than those involving other weapons or bodily force.
Firearm-related deaths and injuries result in estimated medical costs of $2.3 billion each year – half of which are borne by U.S. taxpayers.
A California study found that in the first year after the purchase of a handgun, suicide was the leading cause of death among handgun purchasers. In the first week after the purchase of a handgun, the firearm suicide rate among the purchasers was 57 times as high as the adjusted rate in the general population.
A 1991 study documenting the effectiveness of Washington, D.C.’s law banning handguns (this law was recently repealed following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling finding it unconstitutional in District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008) found that following the enactment of the ban in 1976, there was a 25% decline in homicides committed with firearms and a 23% decline in suicides committed with firearms within the District of Columbia. No similar reductions were observed in the number of homicides or suicides committed by other means, nor were similar reductions found in the adjacent metropolitan areas in Maryland and Virginia.
An analysis of Texas’ CCW law, (a law adopted in 1995 that overturned the state’s 125-year ban on concealed weapons), found that between January 1, 1996 and August 31, 2001, Texas license holders were arrested for 5,314 crimes, including murder, rape, kidnapping and theft. From 1996 to 2000, Texas CCW holders were arrested for weapons-related crimes at a rate 81% higher than that of the state’s general population age 21 and older.
Living in a home where there is a gun increases the risk of homicide by 40 to 170% and the risk of suicide by 90 to 460%.
Nearly 80% of Mexico’s illegal firearms and most recovered crime guns in major Canadian cities are imported illegally from the U.S
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