Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site amdahl.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!zehntel!zinfandel!hplabs!pesnta!amdcad!amdahl!ems
From: ems@amdahl.UUCP (E. Michael Smith)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Merry Christmas from the NRA
Message-ID: <902@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 9-Jan-85 13:40:01 EST
Article-I.D.: amdahl.902
Posted: Wed Jan  9 13:40:01 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jan-85 01:21:46 EST
References: <2974@allegra.UUCP> <1912@sun.uucp> <243@harvard.ARPA> <1925@sun.uucp>
Organization: Amdahl Corp, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 46

> > > > 
> > > > Last year, Handguns killed
> > > > 	10,728 in the united states
> > > 
> > > Fact is, Handguns never kill anyone.
> > > People kill People, and they use a variety of tools to do so.
> > 
> > The question raised by the numbers ...  is whether these
> > People who kill People would have done so if they did
> > not have access to handguns.
> > 
> 
> I say the numbers ain't worth the paper they're printed on unless you
> have the associated sociological study of who pulled the trigger, and
> what their previous criminal record was.
> -- 

I saw one posting go by that seemed to assert that the number of
handgun related deaths was closer to 20K.  10k from suicide, 6k or so
from homicide, and 2k or so from accidents.  (I may have garbled the
numbers some in my sticky state memory...)

From this I would assume that the biggest hunk (1/2) would have
commited suicied by gun anyway, even if it were registered, or would
have found another way to die (like driving into me on the freeway
head on) if guns were banned.  The 2k or so accidental should still
exist with registration, though should be lower with a ban (assuming of
course that the ban didn't just result in a reduction of people seeking
training without effecting gun numbers).  So really we are talking about
more like 6k.  Of these, how many were JUSTIFIABLE homicides?  Are
police shootings accounted for here?  How many were people shooting
a crook and how many crooks shooting victims?

I have no idea if these numbers are at all valid, as I said - my source
is a flakey memory of an unknown posting.  Well netland, any better
analysis?
-- 

The early bird catches the worm, but the early worm gets eaten.
So which are you, a worm or a bird brain? (Me? I sleep in...)

E. Michael Smith  ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems

The opinions expressed by me are not representative of those of any
other person - natural, unnatural, or fictional - and only marginally
reflect my opinions as strained by the language.