ALUmnus wrote:ToTheLeft wrote:http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcgvinco.html
United States in 1999 Total Homicides- 5.70 Fire Arm Related- 3.72 % of households with firearms- 39.0
Over 65% of the homicides committed were with firearms, and 3.72 of every 100,000 people die from firearms.
Compare that with...
Finland
Australia
New Zealand
Belgium
England
Sweeden
Greece
and The Netherlands
All of which have lower % of handgun ownership, and, believe it or not, LESS FIREARMS HOMICIDES. Both by percentage and sheer volume. The countries on that list that have high rates of homicide are war stricken or historically VERY violent (N. Ireland for example)
Yay statsitics (Wasn't tough to find, either...)
Those are just gun crimes. You make guns illegal, criminals will find something else to kill people with, like spoons or superpowers. And that's from 1999, not only old but sort of random.
ALUmnus is correct. gun crime rates don't help with the issue at hand because we are trying to determine if more guns in the hands of law abiding civilians results in less crime.
we need to look at stats that show the crime rate before and after a specific event or change in laws etc... to see the effect it had. for example: Kennesaw, GA
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/artic ... E_ID=55288
Kennesaw, GA enacted a law REQUIRING every head of household to "own and maintain a gun" back in March 1982. This was in response to a handgun ban in Morton, Ill.
"Since then, despite dire predictions of "Wild West" showdowns and increased violence and accidents,
not a single resident has been involved in a fatal shooting – as a victim, attacker or defender."
lets look at the numbers:
"The crime rate initially plummeted for several years after the passage of the ordinance, with the 2005 per capita crime rate actually significantly lower than it was in 1981, the year before passage of the law."
Kennesaw:
1981 Population: 5242
Crime Rate in 1981: 4,332 per 100,000
National Avg. 1981: 3,899 per 100,000
Difference: 11% higher than National Avg.
2005 Population: 28,189 (537% higher than 1981)
Crime Rate in 2005: 2,027 per 100,000 (53% lower than 1981)
National Avg. in 2005: Not Given
The most telling statistic: ZERO residents involved in fatal shootings either as attackers, defenders or victims.
Morton Grove:
1981 Population: Not given, but greater than 22,202
Crime Rate in 1981: Not given
National Avg. 1981: 3,899 per 100,000
Difference: Not given
2005 Population: 22,202
Crime Rate in 2005: 2,268 per 100,000 (higher than Kennesaw, even though it has fewer people)
National Avg. in 2005: Not Given
"
the city's crime rate increased by 15.7 percent immediately after the gun ban, even though the overall crime rate in Cook County rose only 3 percent."
"Police Lt. Craig Graydon said: "When the Kennesaw law was passed in 1982 there was a substantial drop in crime … and we have maintained a really low crime rate since then. We are sure it is one of the lowest (crime) towns in the metro area." Kennesaw is just north of Atlanta."
Exhibit 1: Mandatory to have guns, total crime dropped by 53%, ZERO people killed by guns in the 25 YEARS since the law went into effect.
the argument could be made that enacting a mandatory ownership law has actually helped the town grow by making it a more attractive place to live.
"The mat is my ocean. I'm a shark. Most people don't even know how to swim.... And your kung-fu floaties are no good here..."