February 17,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, There are 30,000 gun related deaths per year by firearms, and this number is not disputed. U.S. population 324,059,091 as of Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Do the math: 0.000000925% of the population dies from gun related actions each year. Statistically speaking, this is insignificant! What is never told, however, is a breakdown of those 30,000 deaths, to put them in perspective as compared to other causes of death:
• 65% of those deaths are by suicide which would never be prevented by gun laws
• 15% are by law enforcement in the line of duty and justified
• 17% are through criminal activity, gang and drug related or mentally ill persons – gun violence
• 3% are accidental discharge deaths
So technically, “gun violence” is not 30,000 annually, but drops to 5,100. Still too many? Well, first, how are those deaths spanned across the nation?
• 480 homicides (9.4%) were in Chicago
• 344 homicides (6.7%) were in Baltimore
• 333 homicides (6.5%) were in Detroit
• 119 homicides (2.3%) were in Washington D.C. (a 54% increase over prior years)
So basically, 25% of all gun crime happens in just 4 cities. All 4 of those cities have strict gun laws, so it is not the lack of law that is the root cause.
This basically leaves 3,825 for the entire rest of the nation, or about 75 deaths per state. That is an average because some States have much higher rates than others. For example, California had 1,169 and Alabama had 1.
Now, who has the strictest gun laws by far? California, of course, but understand, so it is not guns causing this. It is a crime rate spawned by the number of criminal persons residing in those cities and states. So if all cities and states are not created equally, then there must be something other than the tool causing the gun deaths.
Are 5,100 deaths per year horrific? How about in comparison to other deaths? All death is sad and especially so when it is in the commission of a crime but that is the nature of crime. Robbery, death, rape, assault all is done by criminals and thinking that criminals will obey laws is ludicrous. That’s why they are criminals.
But what about other deaths each year?
• 40,000+ die from a drug overdose–THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT!
• 36,000 people die per year from the flu, far exceeding the criminal gun deaths
• 34,000 people die per year in traffic fatalities(exceeding gun deaths even if you include suicide)
Now it gets good:
• 200,000+ people die each year (and growing) from preventable medical errors. You are safer in Chicago than when you are in a hospital!
• 710,000 people die per year from heart disease. It’s time to stop the double cheeseburgers! So what is the point? If Obama and the anti-gun movement focused their attention on heart disease, even a 10% decrease in cardiac deaths would save twice the number of lives annually of all gun-related deaths (including suicide, law enforcement, etc.). A 10% reduction in medical errors would be 66% of the total gun deaths or 4 times the number of criminal homicides……Simple, easily preventable 10% reductions!
So you have to ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, why the focus on guns? It’s pretty simple.:
Taking away guns gives control to governments.
The founders of this nation knew that regardless of the form of government, those in power may become corrupt and seek to rule as the British did by trying to disarm the populace of the colonies. It is not difficult to understand that a disarmed populace is a controlled populace.
Thus, the second amendment was proudly and boldly included in the U.S. Constitution. It must be preserved at all costs.
So the next time someone tries to tell you that gun control is about saving lives, look at these facts and remember these words from Noah Webster: “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States. A military force at the command of Congress can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power.”
Remember, when it comes to “gun control,” the important word is “control,” not “gun.”
Even if all guns were outlawed tomorrow, whereby the only people who could legally posses them were police and military, it simply would not work. Like all liberal theories, it has a wonderful theoretical application but a hopeless practical application. Now with firearms, you would think that they would understand this due to the exact same approach taken with drugs. Liberals love drugs and they will give you all kinds of data about how stupid it is to outlaw something that is so commonly used and enjoyed. The exact same thing will happen with guns. In fact, it would make it worse, as the only sellers of guns would be criminal gangs.
So true
Gun Legislation doesn’t have to work. It’s main purpose is to allow politicians (you know that honest crowd) to make the public believe they are capable of doing something about gun deaths. I might add politicians are almost constantly protected by GUNS.
I have the respect for the gun, I just feel that it should be a universal law across the United States make it simple and easy. Not that you go from the New York metropolitan areas some of the toughest laws in the land. And then you go down south it’s a lot easier or out west to obtain a gun. Just have the same yes that’s allI don’t know will that work.
they forgot to include over 500,000 abortions every year
Thanks Robert.
I’m sure it’s a task with regards to your line of thinking but let’s stay on topic.
As the author states, it gun control is not about guns, but rather about CONTROL… at least in the eyes of Stalin, Mao, Castro, Pol Pot, Peron, Kim (3 of ’em), Chavez, Obama, Clinton, etc.
Actual number of death by guns per year has crossed 39,000 as of 2017. That makes it the third biggest killer, following illnesses, and other injuries. It is expected to be closer to 42,000 for 2018. There is an overwhelming use of guns for suicide- because it is way more fatal and irreversible, especially due to the type of firearms available. The USA has at least 89 firearms/100 people, compared to 6.2/100 in UK, and 15/100 in Australia. Between 2001 – 2013, gun deaths were FAR MORE than all the following, COMBINED -AIDS, illegal drug overdose, all wars, all terrorism. Terrorism deaths in USA in year 1970 to 2014 = 3521; Gun violence homicides in JUST one year 2015= 8512. There is CLEAR proof that stricter gun ownership laws, stronger regulations during ownership, gun buyback programs, etc will drastically reduce this needless killing of our youth and children.
like Chicago?
Let us also blame screwdrivers, knives, rebar, baseball bats, automobiles, frozen turkeys, etc. All are objects that spontaneously jump up to kill and maim.
It is 0.00926% not 0.000000926% (30,000/324,059,091)x100.