I won't even take the easy shots from you.
What flaws do you see in his study and conclusions?
Remember, he is a professional and highly trained in his art. He is obviously discerning things far beyond what you and I are capable of.
Website has a map that adds even more "duh!" to the obvious he is missing.
I was forced to excerpt it due to size.
The entire article will start your weekend with a laugh and confidence in ultimate victory......because the educated elite in the opposition are morons.
The PhD may not be stupid, but he is blind.
Whatever they pay this guy....they shouldn't.
First, many of the deaths described as due to guns are, in fact, suicides. Accidental deaths due to guns, in contrast, are rare. And, homicides appears not correlated with guns, meaning that as many homicides are deterred by guns as are facilitated by guns. So, at least the debate is getting focused on facts.
Second, the overall suicide rate in the U.S. is not bad compared to other advanced democratic countries. While we might be able to do something about lowering the rate, suicide prevention is as much a problem in western European countries that do not have guns as it is in this country. And, it could be that by taking away guns and in other ways becoming like western European countries, we have no impact on suicide.
Now, third, there is a correlation between the presence of guns and suicide within the U.S. The explanation for this correlation is that suicide, esp. among younger people, is impulsive; and, in a moment of weakness, easy access to a gun can result in a suicide. Further, if the suicide had not occurred, suicide might be avoided (as opposed to merely postponed), due to the individual seeking help, or being subject to an intervention.
If we can deal with the access to guns of the mentally ill, while preserving our freedom, we might be able to actually lower suicide rates (and also lower the number of mass murder events).
To a liberal, point #3 says take freedom away from everybody so that those among us who are vulnerable will not feel “singled out.”
To a conservative, point #3 says we - as parents, teachers, family physicians and mental health professionals - should be on guard for indications of mental illness, and willing and able to intervene upon probable cause.
As conservatives, we would have to balance 4th Amendment provisions for privacy and 5th Amendment provisions for due process. We could not just order drone strikes, or confiscate guns, or compile a “national data base.” Of course, this means we, as conservatives, wouldn’t claim that we could prevent every mentally ill mass murder event or every suicide.
On the other hand, we would have a society in which being free made life worth living. Not a society of slaves. And, few people would seek relief from slavery through alcoholism, drugs, suicide, and other socially-irresponiable and self-destructive behaviors.
The actual numbers are dramatic. Take Connecticut, for instance. The Washington Post lists 134 black homicide victims per million residents vs. 6 white homicide victims per million residents.
Trying to conflate suicides with homicides is a tactic that the left will use to claim that firearms are dangerous to everybody, even the people in rural areas who have lots of guns and very limited gun regulations but very low crime rates. They are already doing so, using statistics that include suicide rates to justify magazine restrictions and bans on semi-automatic weapons, as if either topic had anything to do with suicide rates.
This is just a typical study that really is more a study in the prevalence of bad studies. There are any number of factors that contribute to suicide. One big one is divorce. Children of divorced parents are several times over more likely to consider suicide. West Virginia has a fairly depressed economy which I’m sure contributes. I know of two suicides personally. One lady committed suicide right after being served divorce papers another overdosed on pills due to a complicated relationship I believe with a married man. Neither used guns.
Lets get real though the primary contributors to suicide are substance abuse and mental disorder. People use poisoning and hanging that when taken together are the preferred method of suicide for nearly as many as are guns and women are more likely to use those methods than guns. This whole study is really just a deflection from the individuals because suicide is something that doesn’t arise from the gun it is something that arises in an individual.
The number of suicides in 2012 were somewhere around 36k which is fairly small and historically the death rate due to suicide has decreased since 1950 though it has increased since 2000 and it jumped substantially in 2012. There are several surveys that suggest gun ownership is in a 30 year decline even though gun sales are up. I’m not sure I can trust surveys because I don’t know how readily people would be to answer honestly on the question of owning a gun.
The substance abuse angle should be particularly of interest with the push to legalize more recreational drugs. This has been shown to contribute to suicidal thoughts significantly. Also if we look at other countries where guns are not readily available the suicide rate is not markedly different. The rate for the UK in was 11.8 and the US 12.0 and Cuba was 12.3 and anti gun France a whopping 15.0. So this is clearly a stupid study trying to make a link that just isn’t there.
It makes sense. Satan’s only tool against good people is despair. So they despair and kill themselves.
Leftist slimeballs kill OTHERS and indulge themselves all the way.
if this was true, democrats would demand free guns for conservatives.