Reply #83: What stats? "Estimated" stats? [View All]

[louis-t]

I was referring to the "estimated" stats given in the post. Estimated by whom? Those "estimated" stats are about as useful as the bush administration's stats on how wonderful the repug economy is, or how the surge "worked", or how many "insurgents" they killed. There are no stats that compare chances of a weapon being used in self-defense to chances of being stolen or mis-used. I was merely using observation and common sense, not relying on some phony numbers on a page. Again, what types of incidents are they including in their "estimates"? Every time some knuckle-dragger walks into a bar with a gun tucked in his belt, does that count as one? Every time some sleepy paranoid hears a bump in the night and runs toward the door with his loaded .45, does that count as one? What about when a father shoots his daughter through a closet door thinking she's an intruder? There are some real stats I've read such as: a sizeable percent of police officers killed in the line of duty by gunfire were shot with their own weapons. I recall an incident here in the midwest a few years ago where an off-duty police officer witnessed a robbery at a gas station. She drew her weapon and was immediately shot and killed. She was the only one shot in the incident. I recall another school shooting where a bunch of teachers ran to their cars to get their weapons. Another unarmed teacher followed the kid outside of the school, put out his hand and said "Son, give me the gun." The kid handed over the gun! By the time the Rambos got back with their weapons, it was all over. Talk about bravery. That teacher should have been given a medal. No one knows if brandishing a weapon in self defense against an armed intruder increases your chance of survival, or increases your chance of becoming Swiss cheese. Now let's examine some idiot responses to gunfire tragedies, shall we? "If only all of the teachers at Columbine had been armed, this wouldn't have happened!" Kids with death wishes aren't going to change their plans because teachers might be armed. The same response was evoked when another school shooting happened where the students were firing from the woods at the school. Yes, definitely, let's rake the woods with gunfire in hopes that we'll hit the right target. How about: "If more people are armed, the criminals will be afraid to rob someone because they won't know who is armed and who isn't." That's the same argument that claims the death penalty lowers the murder rate. It doesn't. Desperate people will do desperate things. Always. I also question the wisdom of states that give someone the right to shoot someone trying to steal a car. We all hate crime and want punishment for the criminal, but really...

And by the way, don't worry, no one will ever try to pry your guns from your cold, dead hands.