Is everyone aware of just how dangerous television sets are? Over ninety-nine percent of people who commit homicide or suicide watched a TV in the year prior.
And yes, I just made that up, but the truth is probably not far off.
Japan has far, far fewer guns than the US, and a suicide rate which is almost double ours. Why didn't their lack of guns affect their suicide rate? Does sushi cause suicide?
Perhaps it's because guns don't cause suicide.
And yes, I just made that up, but the truth is probably not far off.
You are closer than you think. This study just averages together a bunch of other studies, as if that would increase the accuracy or correctness of the original studies. I haven't gone through each of the original studies used, but they are similar to the notorious Harvard study where the researchers asserted that the presence of a firearm in a house increased the resident's risk of death from homicide by firearm.
In that study there was an even stronger correlation - namely that renting instead of owning your residence increased your risk of death from homicide by firearm.
Needless to say the study's authors don't advocate restricting access to rental housing. What their study confuses is correlation and causation for the general population.
Apart from the other methodological faults in the Harvard study, in the already selected population of people who are killed in their homes, there may be a correlation between firearms ownership and the overall lifestyle and personality of the residents. Put simply, a person is more likely to die from being shot in their house if they feel they are likely to need to defend themself against, for example, a home invasion by the other drug gang members they do business with. And, for a woman, if her boyfriend is a pretty shady character, drinks a lot, owns a gun, and lives in a bad neighborhood, then she is probably are more at risk of violence than a typical female. Particularly if the woman and her boyfriend rent instead of own the property.
The anti-gun researchers conflate causal factors with correlated characteristics of a group of people. By the logic of the anti-gun researchers denim jackets and Harley Davidson motorcycles are the cause of bar fights.