Gun Stats You Can Use:

31 Jul, 2002 by John Hawkins

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Gun Stats You Can Use: Paul Craig Roberts doles out some gun statistics in his latest column that are going to blow away the anti-gun left…

Just how dangerous are guns to kids?

“Did you know that water is 19 times more dangerous to a child than a firearm? In 1996, 805 children died from accidental drownings and 42 died from firearm accidents. (Gun control zealots inflate “child” firearm deaths by including teenage drug gang members killed in turf battles.)

Bathtubs are twice as dangerous to children as guns. Fire is 18 times more dangerous to children than guns. Cars are 57 times more dangerous. Household cleaners and poisons are twice as dangerous.”

How useful are guns to law abiding citizens?

“Did you know defensive gun use prevents far more crimes than the police? National polls of defensive gun use by private citizens indicate that as many as 3.6 million crimes annually are prevented by armed individuals. In 98 percent of the cases, the armed citizen merely has to brandish his weapon. As many as 400,000 people each year believe they saved a life by being armed.”

So does a high percentage of gun ownership increase or decrease the amount of crime in an area?

“Between 1973 and 1994, the number of guns in private ownership in the U.S. rose by 87 million. During this period, both the homicide rate and the percent of homicides committed with firearms dropped.

The 17 states and the District of Columbia without concealed-carry permits enjoy an 81 percent higher rate of violent crime.”