Posted on 12/29/2004 2:25:18 PM PST by kattracks
Back before the November election, many mainstream media pundits – trying desperately to get John Kerry elected – began to harp on President Bush's unwillingness to stop certain federal gun control laws from expiring as scheduled. But their propaganda efforts came to naught because this issue was a non-starter with the American people.The fact is, in this day of post-9/11 increased security consciousness, most average Americans simply don’t want more gun control. They want more guns on hand to defend themselves and their loved ones in the face of possible life-threatening danger. Soccer moms are now taking handgun proficiency courses down at the local firing range.
Liberals are always complaining about getting to the root of the problem – unless it deals with gun rights. Then they abandon all logical analysis and resort to hysteria, distortion and downright lies.
Today I want to set the record straight and dispel a few of the more common myths with some hard facts.
First, according to statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there is an interesting correlation between accidental deaths caused by guns and those caused by doctors.
Doctors: (A) There are 700,000 physicians in the U.S. (B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians total 120,000 per year. (C) Accidental death percentage per physician is 0.171.
Guns: (A) There are 80 million gun owners in the U.S. (B) There are 1,500 accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups. (C) The percentage of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000188.
Statistically, then, doctors are 9,000 times more dangerous to the public health than gun owners are.
Fact: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR. Following the logic of liberals, we should all be warned: "Guns don't kill people. Doctors do."
More seriously, Dr. Glen Otero of the Claremont Institute has published an enlightening article entitled "Ten Myths About Gun Control." (The entire article can be found at the Web site of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws, www.dsl.org.) Here are just a few of his well-documented findings.
- Approximately 80 percent of all adult American citizens own firearms, and a gun can be found in nearly half of American households.
- Between 1974 and 1995, the total number of privately owned firearms in America increased by 75 percent, to 236 million. During the same period, national homicide and robbery rates did NOT significantly increase.
- Fewer than 1 percent of all guns are involved in any type of crime, which means that over 99 percent of all guns are NOT used to commit any crime.
- In 1987, the National Crime Victimization Survey estimated that about 83 percent of Americans would become the victims of violent crime during the course of their lifetimes.
- The National Self-Defense Survey found that between 1988 and 1993, American civilians used firearms in self-defense almost 2.5 million times per year, saving up to 400,000 lives per year in the process.
- Guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens deter crime. Where U.S. counties have enacted concealed-carry laws, murder rates fell by 8 percent, rape by 5 percent, and aggravated assault by 7 percent. Urban counties recorded the largest decreases demographically.
You get the picture: Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. But sometimes law-abiding citizens with guns can save the lives of other innocent people.
It’s time to restore some common sense to the hysterical debate over gun control. When Cain killed Abel with a rock, God didn’t ban all rocks. He dealt with Cain personally. We need to enforce our criminal laws against murder, robbery and assault.
I will cite the testimony of just one more expert witness. No, it’s not another politician or media pundit. Here’s what former Mafia underboss, self-confessed hit man and government informant Sammy "The Bull" Gravano had to say:
"Gun control? It’s the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I’m a bad guy, I’m always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You pull the trigger with a lock on, and I’ll pull the trigger. We’ll see who wins."
It’s time for liberals to go out and buy a gun. And maybe get a life – or at least protect one.
Copyright © 2004 by Nathan Tabor
"Doctors Kill More People Than Guns Do"
And traffic accidents kill more police officers.
Hmmm - I wouldn't go bragging about these figures if you tort reform.
What about the dreaded doctors with guns? I shudder to think of the possiblities. ;)
Very Good....
This should drive the libs nuts for a while.
Thanks for posting it.
Regards,
Joe
This month's Health and Healing newsletter by Dr. Julian Whitaker indicates that about 800,000 people are killed each year by adverse reactions from prescription medication- more than heart disease and cancer combined.
Nathan Tabor ping! The guy is getting some "press"!
Bookmarked and printed.
...although they could turn this around into an anti-tort reform message...
bttt
This would be good to give to your kids when they go in for a physical, since they are likely to be asked if there are any guns in the house.
http://www.gunfacts.info/
I've always said folks should stay away from doctors and carry guns to stay healthy!
A .38 a day helps keep doctors away?
LOL!!!! A .38 a day keeps almost all bad things away for real! I will say doctors do do some good.
we need a federal program to issue trigger locks to put on all doctors.
Doctor: Are there any guns in your house?
Patient: No.
Doctor: Well, that's good!
Patient: No, I don't like to leave them unattended, so I always keep them in my immediate possession.
Consider this..."More people die in the Cleveland Clinic than the Walk-in clinic."
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