Posted on 12/29/2004 2:25:18 PM PST by kattracks
Back before the November election, many mainstream media pundits – trying desperately to get John Kerry elected – began to harp on President Bush's unwillingness to stop certain federal gun control laws from expiring as scheduled. But their propaganda efforts came to naught because this issue was a non-starter with the American people.The fact is, in this day of post-9/11 increased security consciousness, most average Americans simply don’t want more gun control. They want more guns on hand to defend themselves and their loved ones in the face of possible life-threatening danger. Soccer moms are now taking handgun proficiency courses down at the local firing range.
Liberals are always complaining about getting to the root of the problem – unless it deals with gun rights. Then they abandon all logical analysis and resort to hysteria, distortion and downright lies.
Today I want to set the record straight and dispel a few of the more common myths with some hard facts.
First, according to statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there is an interesting correlation between accidental deaths caused by guns and those caused by doctors.
Doctors: (A) There are 700,000 physicians in the U.S. (B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians total 120,000 per year. (C) Accidental death percentage per physician is 0.171.
Guns: (A) There are 80 million gun owners in the U.S. (B) There are 1,500 accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups. (C) The percentage of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000188.
Statistically, then, doctors are 9,000 times more dangerous to the public health than gun owners are.
Fact: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR. Following the logic of liberals, we should all be warned: "Guns don't kill people. Doctors do."
More seriously, Dr. Glen Otero of the Claremont Institute has published an enlightening article entitled "Ten Myths About Gun Control." (The entire article can be found at the Web site of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws, www.dsl.org.) Here are just a few of his well-documented findings.
- Approximately 80 percent of all adult American citizens own firearms, and a gun can be found in nearly half of American households.
- Between 1974 and 1995, the total number of privately owned firearms in America increased by 75 percent, to 236 million. During the same period, national homicide and robbery rates did NOT significantly increase.
- Fewer than 1 percent of all guns are involved in any type of crime, which means that over 99 percent of all guns are NOT used to commit any crime.
- In 1987, the National Crime Victimization Survey estimated that about 83 percent of Americans would become the victims of violent crime during the course of their lifetimes.
- The National Self-Defense Survey found that between 1988 and 1993, American civilians used firearms in self-defense almost 2.5 million times per year, saving up to 400,000 lives per year in the process.
- Guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens deter crime. Where U.S. counties have enacted concealed-carry laws, murder rates fell by 8 percent, rape by 5 percent, and aggravated assault by 7 percent. Urban counties recorded the largest decreases demographically.
You get the picture: Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. But sometimes law-abiding citizens with guns can save the lives of other innocent people.
It’s time to restore some common sense to the hysterical debate over gun control. When Cain killed Abel with a rock, God didn’t ban all rocks. He dealt with Cain personally. We need to enforce our criminal laws against murder, robbery and assault.
I will cite the testimony of just one more expert witness. No, it’s not another politician or media pundit. Here’s what former Mafia underboss, self-confessed hit man and government informant Sammy "The Bull" Gravano had to say:
"Gun control? It’s the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I’m a bad guy, I’m always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You pull the trigger with a lock on, and I’ll pull the trigger. We’ll see who wins."
It’s time for liberals to go out and buy a gun. And maybe get a life – or at least protect one.
Copyright © 2004 by Nathan Tabor
Only doctors and lawyers have practices. You don't object to being practiced on, do you?
Wonder what the accidental death percentage per stunt team, bomb disposal personnel, fighter pilot, Alaskan crab boat captain etc is?
Dealing with sick people is inherently dangerous. The performance of medical care delivery carries risk.
How many deaths would occur without the presence or participation of imperfect doctors, who make fatal mistakes, in the population at risk for iatrogenic injury/fatalities?
Sorry to post and run but I am on my way out of the office and wanted to express a alternate viewpoint for contemplation.
Read this back when GOPfun.com was regularly maintained. Always a fun stat to use against the gun control nuts!
"Doctors: (A) There are 700,000 physicians in the U.S. (B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians total 120,000 per year. (C) Accidental death percentage per physician is 0.171."
These figures do not take into account the deaths that are caused by doctors ON PURPOSE, in the name of "Woman's right to choose."
The ones in the Cleveland Clinic are sicker.
If you have a disease that is 100% fatal, and you get a treatment that is 90% effective but has a 10% complication rate, and you die of a complication, were you "killed by the doctor"?
Do Doctors kill more people than cigarettes? Maybe we should outlaw Doctors (especially in the inner city)? Or at least levy hefty tax on people stupid enough to use Doctors. Its for their own good anyway, as using a Doctor has been shown to precede death. For good measure, hospitals should be sued for "distributing" Doctors.
I could go on and on.......
My wife had a cousin who was ran over by a Doctor in front of the hospital.....I'M SERIOUS !!
**I believe the author wrote this with tongue firmly placed in cheek. He was trying to make a point, imo, not knock doctors in general.**
Personally, I have more confidence in faith healing, chiropractors,shamans, medicine men and witch doctors ;)
I think we need stricter laws that will make it more difficult to see a doctor at a gun show.
Can you imagine a doctor reporting to the OR with a Desert Eagle on his hip?
This doesn't even include the "wrong leg taken off" type incidents which don't kill, but maim.
Thanks for posting the article.
az
You have to understand, that Doctors in general make a good living and therefore are among the "privileged". For that reason it certainly is justified to believe any made up derogatory statistics about them.
Please note, that is why they call it the "Walk-in"clinic and not the "Walk-out" clinic. No guarantees.
BTTT!!!
Only if you make the mistaken assumption that every one of those deaths is due to error or negligence on the part of the physician.
Sheer statistical probability dictates that some percentage of a physician's patient base will die during any given year.
Even if that physician is a dermatologist.
: ^ )
Your favorite opponent...
Gun ping
They can have my doctor when they pry him from my cold dead hands .....
nah just doesn't sound right.......
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