• 65% of those deaths are by suicide, which would never be prevented by draconian gun laws.
• 15% are by law enforcement in the line of duty … justified.
• 17% are through criminal activity, gang and drug related or mentally ill persons – true gun violence.
• 3% are accidental discharge of firearms.
So technically, “GUN” violence is not 30,000 annually, but drops to 5,100. Still too many? How are those deaths when spread across cities in the nation?
• 480 homicides (9.4%) were in Chicago
• 344 homicides (6.7%) were in Baltimore
• 333 homicides (6.5%) were in Detroit.
• 119 homicides (2.3%) were in Washington D.C. (a 54% increase over prior years)
So basically, 25% of all gun crime happened in 4 cities. All 4 of those cities have strict gun laws, so it is not the lack of law that’s the root cause.
This basically leaves 3,825 for the entire rest of the nation, or about 75 deaths per state. That’s an average, because some States have much higher rates than others. For example, California had 1,169 and Alabama had 1.
Now, who has the strictest gun laws by far? California of course, but understand, it is not guns causing this. It is a crime rate spawned by the number of criminal persons residing in those cities and states. So, if all cities and states are not created equally, then there must be something other than the “tool” causing the gun deaths.
Are 5,100 deaths per year horrific? How about in comparison to other deaths? Any kind of death is sad and especially when it’s in the commission of a crime. Robbery, death, rape, and assault are all done by criminals. And it’s ludicrous to think criminals will obey laws…that’s why they’re criminals.
But what about other deaths each year?
• 40,000+ die from a drug overdose–and of course, there’s no excuse for that.
• 36,000 people die each year from the flu, far exceeding the criminal gun deaths.
• 34,000 people die each year in traffic fatalities (exceeding gun deaths, even including suicide)
Now it gets even more detailed…
• 200,000+ people die each year from preventable medical errors. So ironically, you’re safer in Chicago than in a hospital.
• 710,000 people die per year from heart disease. So what’s the point? If the anti-gun movement focused their attention on heart disease, even a 10% decrease in cardiac deaths would save twice the number of lives annually of all gun-related deaths (including suicide, law enforcement). A 10% reduction in medical errors would be 66% of the total gun deaths, or 4 times the number of criminal homicides……an easily preventable 10% in reductions.
So you have to ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, why all the focus on guns? It’s pretty simple: Taking away guns gives control to governments.
The founders of this great nation knew that regardless of the form of government, those in power can become corrupt, and seek to rule as the British did by trying to disarm the the colonies. It’s not difficult to understand that a disarmed populace is a controlled populace.
The 2nd amendment was boldly included in the U.S. Constitution by our enlightened founding fathers, and must be preserved at all costs.
So the next time someone tries to tell you that gun control is about saving lives, review the above facts and remember the words of Noah Webster:
“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be raised in the United States. A military force at the command of Congress can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power.”
Think about it.