Comments on: Might More Firearms Have Helped in Kirkwood?

By: ObiJohn

ObiJohn — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:24:02 +0000

Stilletto, Do. The. Math.

The number of accidental shootings in America is somewhere around 400 +/-. That is an order of magnitude less than the 3,000 number you’re touting. Of those 400 +/-, most of those are the result of stupidity, i.e., adults doing something they know they shouldn’t be doing, and most of the victims are adults (either themselves, or their stupid companions who don’t leave immediately when Bobby starts playing with his gun).

Now, even one accidental shooting is a tragedy, much less if the victim is a child… but compare and contrast the 400 +/- , or even the 15,000 +/- people who either commit suicide or are murdered by others using guns, to the 500,000 +/- folks who manage to avoid being robbed, raped, or killed by pulling a gun and NOT using it.

The way to fix the problem of 400 accidental shootings is not to sacrifice the half-million folks who save themselves, it is to provide education and then to accept the fact that every benefit has unavoidable costs.

By: Bob McCarty « Loneranger’s Weblog

Bob McCarty « Loneranger’s Weblog — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:31:33 +0000

[...] Bob McCarty Filed under: Uncategorized — loneranger2008 @ 8:31 pm Bob McCarty, a fellow blogger, wonders if more fire power might have helped in MO. Read about it here. [...]

By: stilletto

stilletto — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:06:46 +0000

Quite the co-incidence, your getting that e-mail just when you needed it, assuming for the moment that you actually received said e-mail.

By: hotoffthepress2

hotoffthepress2 — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:00:25 +0000

stilletto — Write when you find work, okay?

By: stilletto

stilletto — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:58:55 +0000

Yes of course that explains it, in the same way that building a fence around the world’s oceans will keep all the ships from falling off.

By: hotoffthepress2

hotoffthepress2 — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:51:49 +0000

stilletto — Let’s assume for a moment that you’re right about the 3,000 stat you cite above. I received an e-mail from a friend today that explains it: “At a recent rural elementary school meeting in north Florida, Hillary Clinton asked the kids in the audience for total quiet. Then, in the silence, she started to slowly clap her hands, once every few seconds.. Holding the audience in total silence, she said into the microphone, ‘Every time I clap my hands, a child in America dies from gun violence.’ A few seconds went by, then a young voice with a proud southern accent from the front of the crowd pierced the silence, saying,
“Well, stop clappin, ya stupid b_ _ _ _!”

By: stilletto

stilletto — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:44:28 +0000

Of course, and for every innocent shot by a stranger with a firearm, three thousand innocent children are shot accidently by their parents firearm. The upside is that natural selection will eventually eliminate gun nuts by attrition.

By: No Oil for Pacifists

No Oil for Pacifists — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:11:34 +0000

I agree; gun-free isn't free. Unfortunately, I live and work in the District of Columbia, meaning I remain disarmed, at least for now.

By: » Might More Firearms Have Helped in Kirkwood? NoisyRoom.net: Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace. Amelia Earhart

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:43:45 +0000

[...] From Bob McCarty Writes: [...]

By: Always On Watch

Always On Watch — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:37:47 +0000

“Had only one other trained person carried a firearm into the meeting that night, the number of dead and wounded might have been greatly reduced.”

Sure sounds that way!

Some years ago, Kinnesaw, Georgia, was experiencing quite a crime wave–burglaries, I think. An ordinance was enacted requiring all citizens to train in correct handling of firearms and to arm themselves. Voila! A huge reduction in the number of burglaries!