Statistics are valuable tools, since they are able to summarize an argument in a few numbers, and are able to present a good picture of the problem when used honestly. Here are some good statistics.
There are 129 million privately owned firearms in the United States according
to the September, 1997 FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.
There are an estimated 65 million handguns in private circulation in the United
States. (FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 9/1997)
The fastest growing group of gun owners is women, according to Gary Kleck in
Targeting Guns.
Firearms are used defensively roughly 2.5 million times per year, more than
four times as many as criminal uses. This amounts to 2,575 lives protected for
every life lost to a gun (Targeting Guns).
The accidental firearm death rate is at it's lowest point since records were
started nearly 100 years ago according to Injury Facts 2000 from the national
Safety Council.
Motor-vehicle accidents, drowning, suffocation, and fires each kill more
children under the age of fifteen than do firearms.
Less than one handgun in 6,500 is ever used in a homicide.
John Lott, Jr., a researcher at Yale University, found that on average, violent
crime dropped by 4 percent for each 1 percent increase in gun ownership. He
also found that states which enacted laws allowing citizens to carry concealed
guns between 1977 and 1994 experienced an average ten percent reduction in
murders, and a 4.4 percent reduction in violent crime.According to John Lott,
the number of children, nine and under, who died from accidental gunshot
wounds in 1996 was 42. Compare that with the 2,404 who died that year in car
crashes, 805 who drowned, or 738 that died of burns.
A study for the Dept. of Justice found that 34% of felons had been "scared off,
shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim," and 40% of felons have not
committed crimes, fearing potential victims were armed. (J. Wright and P.
Rossi, Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their
Firearms, 1986.)
The Supreme Court, in U.S. v. Cruikshank (92 U.S. 542, 1876), recognized that
the right to arms preexisted the Constitution and is thus an individual right,
stating that it "is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any
manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence." In Beard v. U.S.
(158 U.S. 550, 1895), the Court approved the common-law rule that a person
"may repel force by force" in self-defense, and concluded that when attacked
a person "was entitled to stand his ground and meet any attack made upon
him with a deadly weapon, in such a way and with such force" as needed to
prevent "great bodily injury or death." The laws of all 50 states and the
constitutions of 44 states recognize the right to use armed force in self-defense.
In the Gun Control Act (1968) and Firearms Owners` Protection Act (1986),
Congress stated that it did not intend to "place any undue or unnecessary
Federal restrictions or burdens on law-abiding citizens with respect to the
acquisition, possession, or use of firearms appropriate to the purpose of . . .
personal protection, or any other lawful activity . . . ."
The last direct decision involving the 2nd Amendment was in 1939, in a case
called U.S. vs. Miller. This case dealt with a man who was detained for
unlawfully transporting a sawed off shotgun. He sued, saying he had a
constitutional right to keep and bear arms, and thus transport the shotgun.
Initially, his defense succeeded, and the charges were dropped with no trial.
The government appealed to the Supreme Court. Mr. Miller was too poor to
retain an attorney, so only the government's side was argued in court. Without
the defendant to present evidence or defend himself, the Supreme Court ruled
that in "absence of evidence to the contrary" they couldn't say that the shotgun
served a purpose in a well maintained militia. Instead, they sent the case back
to a lower court, and ordered a trial, which would determine whether or not
the shotgun was legal according to his second amendment protections. Thus
they recognized the individual right to keep and bear arms, so long as those
arms serve a purpose in the militia. Many scholars have felt that if Mr. Miller
had shown up to his trial, he could have easily proven that a sawed off
shotgun has many useful purposes in a militia, such as in World War I, when it
was used as a trench clearing tool. However, because the verdict went against
Mr. Miller, gun control groups have claimed it as a victory, and falsely claim
that the Supreme Court ruled that gun ownership is a collective right. In
reality, no collective right was ever mentioned, and the case was simply sent
back to a lower court for a full trial.
CDC 2002 (Center for Disease Control)
Firearm—In 2002, 30,242 persons died from firearm injuries in the
United States (tables 18�?0), accounting for 18.8 percent of all injury
deaths in 2002. Firearm suicide and homicide, the two major component
causes, accounted for 56.6 and 39.1 percent, respectively, of all
firearm injury deaths in 2002.
Motor vehicle traffic—In 2002 motor-vehicle traffic-related injuries
resulted in 44,065 deaths,
Poisoning—In 2002, 26,435
Falls—In 2002, 17,116 persons died
Firearm. .2002
Unintentional. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
Suicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,108
Homicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,829
Undetermined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Legal intervention/war . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .) 300
Odds of Death Due to Injury, United States, 2002
The odds of dying from any injury in 2002 were 1 in 1,755.
Unintentional Firearms discharge, 1 in 377,876
Intentional self-harm by firearm, 1 in 16,831
Assault by firearm, 1 in 24,342
Transport Accidents, 1 in 5,953 (maybe we should ban cars instead)
There are 38 RTC states,Sixty-four percent of Americans live in RTC states.
The right to self-defense is a fundamental right. The U.S. constitution, the
constitutions of 44 states, and the laws of all 50 states recognize the right to
use arms in self-defense. RTC laws respect the right to self-defense by allowing
individual citizens to carry firearms for protection.
The nation`s violent crime rate has decreased every year since 1991 and in
2002 hit a 23-year low. In the same period, 17 states adopted and 13 states
improved RTC laws. RTC states have lower violent crime rates, on average:
24% lower total violent crime, 22% lower murder, 37% lower robbery, and 20%
lower aggravated assault. The five states with the lowest violent crime rates
are RTC states. (Data: FBI)
you can check the facts at the following locations on the net:
Wizard
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
Prev Message
