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.