GUNS IN AMERICA - A STATISTICAL PERSPECTIVE

Gun Ownership vs. Crime Statistics shed some sanity upon the issue - S.L.

Every year, guns are used over 80x more often to protect a life than to take one.

Source: 2010 CDC Report


270 Million = Approximate # of Civilian firearms in America

Source: www.gunpolicy.org

200,000 TIMES A YEAR = WOMEN USE A GUN TO DEFEND AGAINST SEXUAL ABUSE


Source: Kleck and Gertz, "Armed Resistance to Crime," at 185






3 out of 5 POLLED FELONS SAY THEY WON’T MESS WITH AN ARMED VICTIM

Source: U.S., Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, "The Armed Criminal in America: A Survey of Incarcerated Felons," Research Report (July 1985): 27.


GUN OWNERSHIP vs CRIME - AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE:

Highest Gun Ownership Rate per 100 residents:

#1 - USA: 88.8%

#2 - YEMEN: 54.8%

#3 - SWITZERLAND: 45.7%

#4 - FINLAND: 45.3%

Source: SmallArmsSurvey.org


Highest Intentional Homicide Rate per 100,000 residents:

#1 - HONDURAS: 91.6

#2 - EL SALVADOR: 69.2

#3 - CÔTE D'IVOIRE: 56.9

#4 - JAMAICA: 52.2

(USA is #103 at 4.8 homicides per 100,000 residents.)

Source: "Homicide Statistics 2012", UNODC.

A recent study published in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy concluded that there is a negative correlation between gun ownership and violent crime in countries internationally (more guns = less crime).

Nations with strict gun control laws have substantially higher murder rates than those who do not in general. In fact, the 9 European nations with the lowest gun ownership rate have a combined murder rate THREE TIMES that of the 9 European nations with the highest gun ownership rate!

UNITED KINGDOM CASE STUDY - “Most violent country in EU”
Source: Telegraph - UK is violent crime capital of Europe 2 July 2009

No guns: POSSESSION OF HANDGUNS IS ILLEGAL IN THE UK

Crime: 2,034 VIOLENT CRIMES PER 100,000 PEOPLE IN UK (vs 466 violent crimes per 100,000 people in the USA)

In the decade following the Labor party's election and banning of handguns in 1997, the number of recorded violent attacks soared by 77% to 1.2 million in '07- or more than 2 attacks every minute!

Kitchen knives are being used in as many as half of all stabbings in the United Kingdom and has prompted a group of doctors to call for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives.


CONCEALED CARRY IN AMERICA

An analysis of the FBI crime statistics found that states that adopted concealed carry laws REDUCED:

Murders: 8.5%

Rapes: 5%

Aggravated Assaults: 7%

Robberies: 3%

Source: Wall Street Journal, August 28, 1996: More Guns, Less Violent Crime

With just one exception, every public mass shooting in the USA since 1950 has taken place where citizens are banned from carrying guns. Despite strict gun regulations, Europe has had 3 of the worst 6 school shootings.

Source: USA Today, December 25, 2012 - Opposing view: Guns in schools can save lives


POLICE vs. ARMED CITIZEN

794,300 total police officers Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
vs.
80,000,000 gun owning citizens Source: National Rifle Association

Police = 11% error rate
vs.
Armed Citizen = 2% error rate
Source: Newsweek Magazine: Nov 14, 1993


14.3 average deaths of a shooting rampage stopped by police
vs.
2.3 average deaths of a shooting rampage stopped by an Armed Citizen
Source: The Examiner August 6, 2012 - Auditing Shooting Rampage Statistics


Police = 606 criminals killed each year
vs.
Armed Citizen = 1,527 criminals killed each year
Source: Kleck, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, (1991):111-116, 148.

89% Drop IN BURGLARIES AFTER MANDATORY GUN LAW

In 1982, Kennesaw, Georgia passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. The residential burglary rate subsequently dropped 89% in Kennesaw, compared to just 10.4% drop in Georgia as a whole. Source: Gary Kleck, "Crime Control Through the Private Use of Armed Force," Social Problems 35 (February 1988)

Today, the violent crime rate in Kennesaw is still 85% lower than Georgia's or the national average. Source: City Rating


Related: The only gun infographic you’ll ever need.

Gun Rhetoric vs. Gun Facts at Factcheck.org

Final Word

The Democrats and their willing sycophants in the Left-Leaning Mainstream Media will not engage in a debate on guns concerning the truths about safety and crime statistics mentioned above. This is because:

GUN CONTROL IS NOT ABOUT GUNS.

GUN CONTROL IS ABOUT CONTROL.

Seek firearms training, carry concealed, stay safe and spread the word . . .

- STORMBRINGER SENDS