Posted on 11/19/2001 12:49:32 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
Pro-Gun Experts Prove Handguns Are Ineffective Self-Defense Tools, New VPC Study Reveals
WASHINGTON, DC—In response to the reported spike in handgun sales since the September 11th attacks, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released Unintended Consequences: Pro-Handgun Experts Prove That Handguns Are a Dangerous Choice For Self-Defense. The 90-page study demonstrates through the writings of pro-gun experts the ineffectiveness and dangers of handguns as alleged self-defense tools.
"While the gun industry has greedily hawked its wares in the aftermath of the September 11th tragedy, they have worked even harder to keep hidden from the American public a secret they readily share among themselves—handguns pose grave dangers to their owners and families," states Tom Diaz, author of Unintended Consequences and VPC Senior Policy Analyst. "This study is comprised substantially of writings from pro-gun experts who readily admit handguns are basically impossible to use effectively in self-defense."
For example, Massad Ayoob, a legendary firearms instructor and respected pro-gun author has cautioned, "The uninitiated tend to make two kinds of mistakes with firearms: they either use guns when they shouldn't, or do not use them properly in the rare circumstances when they should." Ayoob has pointed out that, "The average American has more misconceptions about lethal force in the home than in any other self-defense situation. He not only has little understanding of his legal position under these circumstances; he has no idea of how to conduct himself if, by infinitesimal chance, the day comes when his home actually is turned into a battleground he must defend against armed criminals."
In fact, in 1998, for every time that a civilian used a handgun to kill in self-defense, 51 people lost their lives in handgun homicides alone. Yet, there have been an increasing number of news reports that women are a prime target for the gun industry as first-time handgun buyers. Left out of those reports is the fact that in 1999 for every one time a woman used a handgun to kill in self-defense, 120 women were murdered with handguns.
Handguns in the real world—as opposed to the industry's fantasy world of virtuous defensive gun use—make people who own them much less safe. The study reveals that according to leading pro-gun experts the overwhelming majority of people who own handguns:
are ignorant of—or ignore—basic handgun safety rules;
do not have the necessary handgun combat marksmanship skills to effectively defend themselves without harming innocent others; and,
are not prepared for the extreme physiological and psychological effects that the experts, many of whom have on-the-street law enforcement experience with firearms, agree inevitably occur in an armed life-or-death confrontation (the only situation in which lethal force is justified in self-defense).
Making me dizzy now....... :::::--------))))))
Apples and oranges.
When you figure out who he is, you will wish you had not posted this! Try thumbing through an issue of Combat Handguns; he has articles nearly every issue.
No. Radical utopians' arguments usually devolve into a contest to see who can excuse the most mass murder. see Noam Chomsky, et al. These hate-filled fools are no different.
Seriously, find out who he is.
Seriously, find out who he is.
According to them, only about 2% of homicides are justifiable homicides. I don't know the exact number, but did a study many years ago in grad school on just that type occurrence.
The one thing I remember is that a large percentage of homicides are ruled "justifiable". If they are justifiable, that means the person doing the killing was very likely doing so in self defense. The number has to be much higher than 1 in 51. That being said, an extremely high percentage of murders involve, drugs, gangbangers etc. In these situations, the number of homicides has nothing to do with the average citizen yet the numbers are included in the statistics.
Put another way, as the post says, pure BS.
This person recommends a site which would be too valuable for me to assume you've already seen it & made note.
By the way, she is a much better shot with that short-barreled .38 than I am- and I taught weapons for quite a few years. She is also better with the cellphone, but that is probably gender-related. (ONLY KIDDING!!!)
Hard to argue with that advice..
He's spoken at several MCRGO meetings, and supports the right to keep and bear arms, and is the author of a favorite saying to those that don't like gun owners. "Don't go where you are not wanted".
VPC twisted his words around. Ayoob wants you to own and carry a gun, and be trained.
I'm a better shot than my husband. I think he gets a little ticked off when we are at the range and i'm nailing the targets. But I remind him that I'm lousy with the rifles, and he is a good shot with those. Gender related, right? (hehe) And i'm not bad with a cell phone, either...
Since civilians kill in self defense about twice as many people each year as do police, one could reword this sentence as follows:
In fact, in 1998, for every time that a police person used a handgun to kill in self-defense, 102 people lost their lives in handgun homicides alone. Clearly the existence of armed police constitutes an inadequate deterrent to gun crime, and so this country needs policies that encourage law abiding citizens to be armed.
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