RE: All Hail the Second Amendment
May 18, 2016 at 9:27 am
(This post was last modified: May 18, 2016 at 9:55 am by The Grand Nudger.)
Lets deconstruct the claim above, and the method by which it was arrived...step by step. First, let's talk stats-
According to the CDC, reported in 2011, there were roughly 35k lethal shootings..of which approx 600 were deemed to be unintentional. In the same year, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control...there were roughly 80k non-lethal shootings...of which approx 15k were deemed to be unintentional. I've rounded each of these numbers -up- to be generous to the claim. Lets do that again..and call 600, 1k.
So, in 2011, there were a total of 16k shootings deemed to be unintentional, fatal and nonfatal combined. Compare that with the lowest credible estimates -ever- given for DGU's....and I''ll leave it up to you to find which one you prefer. What you will find, is that our numbers don't support the truth of the claim made, no matter who's estimates or numbers for DGUs or unintentional shootings we choose to accept as representative, and depending on which estimates or numbers we accept..the claim goes from plain wrong..to wrong by orders of magnitude. Keep in mind that, in addition to this...those numbers of intentional shootings above -include- DGUs...many, granted, entirely unlawful. Such as one drug dealer defending himself against another drug dealer..or your generic cops v robbers situation that we don't generally...even consider in DGU stats...for whatever reason, but that form the majority of -all- non suicide related shootings.
Now, on to the method by which we arrived at the conclusion, completely in contradiction with any information we have on the subject-
A gun stored unsafely simply doesn't lead, inexorably, to an accidental shooting. Most guns -aren't- stored safely...and yet it's a vanishingly small number of guns that have ever been involved in any shooting, fatal or non-fatal.....accidental or otherwise. Further, successful DGU's in no way require ammunition, safe, -or- unsafe storage. The saftey of storage is simply irrelevant. The sound of a 12g pulling back in the dark is -terrifying-...and that has nothing to do with whether or not a shell has been or could be chambered. Among respondents and reported instances of DGU's...it's much more common that the gun was simply pointed at the other "x", or alluded to in verbal threats. More than this...the number of DGU's reported are not, in any way, limited to home intrusion- and that right there, should be enough to explain why the relationships required for the claim to have any value do not exist.
While I, personally, feel that a gun is a poor choice for home defense, and while I..personally...feel that we should enforce our safety and storage laws to their fullest extent..and while I, personally, think that we have -way- to many "accidental" shootings;
I also feel that we should not make claims about guns and gun safety that are easily torn to shreds by batshit people who do think every home should have a gun, and that we shouldn;t concern ourselves with the storage of those guns or the laws which we have in place regarding the same, or that the fields of freedom must be continually watered with blood. We'd be making it too easy for them. /2cents
According to the CDC, reported in 2011, there were roughly 35k lethal shootings..of which approx 600 were deemed to be unintentional. In the same year, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control...there were roughly 80k non-lethal shootings...of which approx 15k were deemed to be unintentional. I've rounded each of these numbers -up- to be generous to the claim. Lets do that again..and call 600, 1k.
So, in 2011, there were a total of 16k shootings deemed to be unintentional, fatal and nonfatal combined. Compare that with the lowest credible estimates -ever- given for DGU's....and I''ll leave it up to you to find which one you prefer. What you will find, is that our numbers don't support the truth of the claim made, no matter who's estimates or numbers for DGUs or unintentional shootings we choose to accept as representative, and depending on which estimates or numbers we accept..the claim goes from plain wrong..to wrong by orders of magnitude. Keep in mind that, in addition to this...those numbers of intentional shootings above -include- DGUs...many, granted, entirely unlawful. Such as one drug dealer defending himself against another drug dealer..or your generic cops v robbers situation that we don't generally...even consider in DGU stats...for whatever reason, but that form the majority of -all- non suicide related shootings.
Now, on to the method by which we arrived at the conclusion, completely in contradiction with any information we have on the subject-
A gun stored unsafely simply doesn't lead, inexorably, to an accidental shooting. Most guns -aren't- stored safely...and yet it's a vanishingly small number of guns that have ever been involved in any shooting, fatal or non-fatal.....accidental or otherwise. Further, successful DGU's in no way require ammunition, safe, -or- unsafe storage. The saftey of storage is simply irrelevant. The sound of a 12g pulling back in the dark is -terrifying-...and that has nothing to do with whether or not a shell has been or could be chambered. Among respondents and reported instances of DGU's...it's much more common that the gun was simply pointed at the other "x", or alluded to in verbal threats. More than this...the number of DGU's reported are not, in any way, limited to home intrusion- and that right there, should be enough to explain why the relationships required for the claim to have any value do not exist.
While I, personally, feel that a gun is a poor choice for home defense, and while I..personally...feel that we should enforce our safety and storage laws to their fullest extent..and while I, personally, think that we have -way- to many "accidental" shootings;
I also feel that we should not make claims about guns and gun safety that are easily torn to shreds by batshit people who do think every home should have a gun, and that we shouldn;t concern ourselves with the storage of those guns or the laws which we have in place regarding the same, or that the fields of freedom must be continually watered with blood. We'd be making it too easy for them. /2cents
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