This Is Why People Shouldn't Be Allowed to Bring Guns in Their Car to Work

[Uncleromulus]

cslittle: Of course they don't carry those stats! But their point seems to be that those who saved themselves at least had a CHANCE to save themselves.

 

[ericafny]

One can find inherent danger in virtually every aspect of life.

Cell phones might cause brain tumors

Antibiotics can have dangerous side effects.

You can fall getting out of bed, hit your head on the night stand and die instantly.

However, you never hear news of a dysfunctional teen killing classmates with a prescription of Cipro.

Or....of a person getting hurt in a theme park parking lot cleaning his night stand.

Or ...someone holding up a convenience store with their iPhone

Yet each of these things if used improperly could cause bodily harm and therefore be construed as a weapon. The difference being that none of these things was designed as a weapon.

Guns are designed and meant to be used as weapons. That's pretty much their sole purpose. Yes, they can be used for target practice, which can be considered sport, but that sport is basically practice for being proficient at using a weapon.

While I wholeheartedly agree that all standards involving a motor vehicle could and should be more stringent, therefore offering a higher level of safety,
I don't think that the comparison to a gun holds water.

Cars, like antibiotics, cell phones and nights stands can all be dangerous, however,none were designed as weapons.

Very well said

 

[cslittle999]

cslittle: Of course they don't carry those stats! But their point seems to be that those who saved themselves at least had a CHANCE to save themselves.

And I'm not surprised at all. I'm sure that somewhere someone is publishing those stats skewed to emphasize the harm firearms can create. A really interesting stat would be how many people have caused an accident in attempting to save themselves.

It is one of those "needs of the many" versus "needs of the one" problems. For the individual having a firearm may indeed provide a great benefit in some exceptional case but the simple act of creating that potential may cause a detriment to society as a whole. It is a very complex problem.

 

[andrewilley]

A really interesting stat would be how many people have caused an accident in attempting to save themselves.

I guess a figure per million of population is more meaningful than an absolute, so:

Homicide
USA (2001): 39.8
England/Wales (2002): 1.5

Suicide
USA (2001): 59.2
England/Wales (2002): 2

Other (inc Accident)
USA (2001): 3.6
England/Wales (2002): 0.3


Now... tell me again, which country allows public access to guns and which doesn't?

I do know that I personally feel much safer knowing that all the people around me don't have routine access to guns. Hence my agreement to the concept that guns should not be allowed within a tourist environment like Disney.

Andre

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

* In 1997 Britain banned handguns, and between 1998 and 2003 gun crimes doubled.
* According the British Home Office, between 1997 and 2001 homicides increased by 19 percent and violent crime increased by 26 percent; meanwhile, in the United States, those same crimes fell by 12 percent.
* Between 2000 and 2001, robbery increased by 28 percent in Britain but only 4 percent in the United States. Domestic burglary increased by 7 percent in Britain, but only 3 percent in the United States.
* In 1996 Australia enacted sweeping gun control laws. In the six years following, violent crime rates rose by 32 percent.
* Canada isn't faring well under its stringent gun control laws. Today Canada's violent crime rate is more than double the rate in the United States.

If the trend among "civilized" nations is that enacting gun control laws increases violent crime, what is the real benefit of doing so here?

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

I guess a figure per million of population is more meaningful than an absolute, so:

Homicide
USA (2001): 39.8
England/Wales (2002): 1.5

Suicide
USA (2001): 59.2
England/Wales (2002): 2

Other (inc Accident)
USA (2001): 3.6
England/Wales (2002): 0.3


Now... tell me again, which country allows public access to guns and which doesn't?

Of the homicides/suicides/other, what portion of each was driven by LEGAL gun ownership? How did those rates break down among states which have right to carry protection. I know the greatest drivers in homicides in the US are from the inner-cities and AFAIK, almost all of them have major restrictions on carry permits.