On 4/19/13 1:04 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
-MIKE- wrote in
:

On 4/19/13 6:16 AM, Doug Miller wrote:
-MIKE- wrote in
:

[...]
I can also point out that there are a thousand times more
deaths by automobile, but no one is banning them. There are
hundreds of times more deaths from baseball bats and hammers,
but no one is trying to ban them.

This is untrue.

There are very nearly as many deaths due to firearms in the
U.S. as due to automobiles (roughly 31000 vs 34000,
respectively, in 2011).

Over 60% of the firearm deaths are suicides, about 2% are
accidents, around 25-30% are murders, and roughly 5% each
non-murder homicide (e.g. self-defense) and "undetermined
intent".


Ok, so if that's accurate then cars are just as dangerous as
guns. Why don't we have a national 35mph speed limit?
Why don't we restrict the top speed of cars?
Why don't we ban cars?

I did not intend my post to be understood as in any way supporting
restrictions on firearm ownership or possession. My only purpose
was to state accurate figures about the relative numbers of deaths
due to firearms and other causes. Guns kill nearly as many people
annually in the US as cars do, and *far more* people are killed by
guns than by ball bats and hammers.

Actual death figures from the CDC for 2011:
homicide by discharge of firearms -- 11,101
homicide by *all*other*means* -- 4,852
suicide by discharge of firearms -- 19,766
accidental discharge of firearms -- 851 (unusually high that year;normal is about half that)
discharge of firearms, undetermined intent -- 222

total of firearms homicide, suicide, accident, undetermined --
31,940 motor vehicle accidents -- 34,677
accidental poisoning -- 33,554 (includes drug overdoses)


When I posted that the first time, I was thinking "assault" weapons,
anyway.
Something like .6% of gun homicides are with "assault" weapons.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

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