While We're At It.....

[CapnAwesome]

I think you make a decent point, however one study found alcohol to be involved in 34% of all murders. That's an enormous percentage of murders, alcohol can almost certainly increase or even cause criminal intent, something that guns are incapable of doing.

Can you link the study? Its no big deal, but I like to look at data.

Anyway, I disagree that guns are incapable of giving a person enough confidence to commit a murder. A person with a gun on his hands may feel empowered enough to face another that otherwise avoid without said gun.

For some reason I can't get the original link to work, but here is a similar study that I found and some information about what I originally saw. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/ac.pdf

Here is some direct information with studies cited, I'm not sure if they are available online anywhere.

A recent survey of Canadian federal inmates found that 39% of assault offenders
reported being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crime; with 34% of those
who committed homicide and 30% of those who attempted murder reporting that they
were under the influence at the time of the offence
(Pernanen, Cousineau, Brochu, & Sun, 2002).

Recent data from the United States suggests that about 30% of assaults involve alcohol (without other drugs) and 40 to 50% of violent crimes involve alcohol or a combination of alcohol and drugs (Beck et al.,1993; Harlow, 1998).

Alcohol was used by the aggressor in 50% of cases of spousal assault, and 38% of child abuse cases in Ontario (Addiction Research Foundation, 1994).


The problem with saying that holding a gun gives you a feeling of empowerment that makes you want to kill people is that a gun doesn't contain any sort of chemicals. I don't doubt that such a feeling could happen, as gambling can be addictive, but I view that as the fault of the person not the gun. Anyway, I think that A Theists original point that alcohol kills people and guns kill people is a valid comparison.