Posted on 03/18/2011 10:08:26 AM PDT by marktwain
In the raging gun control debate in this country, the subject of defensive gun use is one that the gun control lobby would like to keep away from the ears of the general public. After all, if there were more lawful defensive gun uses by common, law-abiding citizens than there were violent crimes committed with firearms by criminals, then the whole premise of their argument would simply fall apart. The whole idea of the anti-gun argument is that more guns leads to more violent crime.
Unfortunately, for gun control advocates, the reality is that defensive gun use is a very common occurrence. According to our own federal government's National Institute of Justice (US Department of Justice), there are at least 1.5 million defensive gun uses (DGUs) that occur in this country every year. Averaging 1.5 million DGUs over the number of days in a year (365) nets an average of 4,109 defensive gun uses every single day in this country. That is an average of 4,109 innocent victims that were able to defend themselves successfully against being murdered, raped, assaulted, and robbed. Contrast this number with the 34 individuals that Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York claims lose their lives to gun violence every single day and you can see the clear utilitarian benefit of a lawfully-armed general populace.
Even when factoring in all violent crimes as reported by our own federal government's Bureau of Justice Statistics (US Department of Justice) that are perpetrated by violent criminals with firearms--a total of 303,880 (832 per day) in 2008 (see Table 7), one can still see that there is a clear utilitarian benefit to the phenomenon of common, law-abiding citizens being armed in society.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
bump!
I've found that when I simply make a remark to the effect that, "Any time a politician wants to inhibit or undermine my ability to protect myself, my loved ones or the people around me, I have to ask 'why?'," it seems to at least get them thinking.
Except for those that have had a gun tragedy in their lives, the people I know that do not hunt or own any, really don’t ever think about them.
And..., the only reason there aren’t more guns used defensively, is that it’s so hard to get a concealed carry permit in many places.
Mentioning how long it takes to get the police on the line, and then to get them to show up while you’re under direct threat also makes them think.
Protect yourself NOW, or wait ten to fifteen minutes? What’s your take when it’s your, your spouse, and your children’s lives on the line?
Even a Lefty starts squirming when you ask them this.
Posted this on a thread discussing this new found interest in the Feds controlling all gun sales:
Think about the fact that we have two world events that exemplify why someone would need firearms.
Libya shows us that sometimes guns are necessary to resist tyranny and the disaster in Japan shows us that there are sometimes when you need to fend for your family.
The gun grabbers would like to think that those justifications do not exist in the real world, maybe because they do not seem to exist in the real world.
Bang! Could you post your GunFacts 5.0 info in this thread? Thanks!
>>Except for those that have had a gun tragedy in their lives, the people I know that do not hunt or own any, really don’t ever think about them.<<
That’s true .... until the dark night when they are watching TV and hear someone fiddling with the front door handle. Yes, that happened to a liberal non gun owner who admitted to me that he came very close to buying a gun the next day but friends talked him out of it.
>>an average of 4,109 innocent victims that were able to defend themselves vs. “the 34 individuals (who)lose their lives to gun violence every single day<<
I see this as probably 4,109 innocent victims who equal the playing field and defend themselves against multiple aggressors or armed criminals with 30 people in the gang banger or drug trades getting in shootouts with each other and 4 people who commit suicide or accidentally kill themselves.
And..., the only reason there aren’t more guns used defensively, is that it’s so hard to get a concealed carry permit in many places.
California has a population of 37,000,000, with "may (in theory but not in fact) issue". Illinois, with no carry at all, has a population 13,000,000. Together these account for one sixth of the US population.
Look at Mexico where citizens are not allowed to own guns, and defend themselves. It is a criminal state, from top to bottom.
The Gun
It is better to have it, and not need it,
Than to need it and not have it.
Or as an old westerner said over 150 years ago...
When you need it, you NEED it!
And when you need it, YOU REALLY NEED IT!
There you go. Open season on citizens.
Thanks for the mention.
"There's only one reason anyone, including politicians, want to disarm you. That is so they can do something to you that you don't want them to do." L. Neal Smith
I don’t personally know anyone that has had that happen to them.
I could only imagine what that conversation might have sounded like. Almost dragged into reality by crime, the poor fool still didn't get it. tsk
It’s happened to me.
He was told that he would lose a lot of friends if they found out that he had bought a handgun and was keeping it inside his house. I didn’t pry but I imagine they were drug users.
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