Guns. There are few more polarizing subjects. We've all heard the rhetoric and number flinging - thousands of innocent children die each year from gun accidents, fewer guns would mean fewer murders, guns are only for killing so possession violates human rights/biblical law/social morality/etc. Politicians feed on these statements, media news recycles them, and otherwise reasonable citizens will believe practically any bad thing said about guns.
But is it really just about the guns or is it more about fear? How often have we heard someone say they don't believe in guns, are afraid of guns, won't have a gun around them. Why? Those same people will drive a car, wield a kitchen knive, or use any number of other dangerous machines every day. Maybe they just don't know why except that politians, police, and television have told them so. As it turns out, guns are just about the least of your worries. Here are some salient comparative facts (For some reason, 2004 is the earliest available year for statistics on death by firearm).
First number: in 2004, total deaths in America were 2,398,343. Over 2 million of these deaths were caused by tobacco use, chronic disease caused by poor diet and physical inactivity, alchohol consumption, diseases and infections, and toxic agent exposure.
In 2004 around 80,000 Americans died by medical error. Experts constantly argue about what should be counted as medical error but most estimates range between 50,000 and 100,000. Many more were injured or crippled by those hired and paid to heal. From another statistical viewpoint, medical professionals and hospitals killed 1 in 30 Americans.
That same year 42,836 Americans died in traffic accidents. This number does not include those crippled for life or that died from later complications. Nor does it include the terrible price in grief. Driving a car killed almost 1 in 56 Americans that year.
Over 34,000 Americans committed suicide that year, about 1 in 71. More than half, some 16,750 people, used a firearm - 1 in 143.
16,137 Americans, or about 1 in 149, were murdered in various ways, most often by family or friends. Of these murders, 11,624 were committed with firearms - 1 in 206.
The year 2004 saw 649 Americans, including children, perish by a firearms accident - 1 in 3,695.
Concerning specifically being shot to death, of the total deaths in America circa 2004, about 1 in 82 or 1.22% died via firearm. Conversely, 98.78% were not killed by firearms that year. Of all the ways to die in America, being shot to death is one of the most unlikely. An estimated 25% of murders were drug or gang related. This means that about 3,555 Americans were either shot to death by robbers, friends, and spouses, or died in an accidental discharge of a firearm. If you are not suicidal and stay away from gangs and drugs, the chance of being shot to death plummets to 1 in 675.
In summary, 1 in 30 Americans died from medical error, 1 in 56 from vehicular accident, and 1 of 675 stable, law-abiding citizens were murdered or suffered a lethal accident with a gun.
Although media news sources and official government speakers often claim there are more guns in America than cars, you are over ten times more likely to die of a traffic accident than purposeful gunshot, twenty times more likely to die at the hand of your local hospital or physician.
On another hand, police and private citizens use firearms every day to protect themselves and others, saving lives and property with firearms. In the states with legal concealed firearm carry, public crimes like car jacking, robbery and rape have declined greatly. Home invasion rates are lowest in states that support "if you break in, you're paid for" policies.
The conclusion that must be drawn from all this is this - guns in America are such a divisive subject not because they are particularly dangerous but because the media and government want us to believe a lie. All of these facts are no further away than the internet. Look them up yourself, don't take my word for it. The Center for Disease Control, United states Vital Statistics, and medical journals like JAMA present numbers and studies that can't be denied, only ignored.
Why a lie? That's another discussion, don't ya know.
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