Posted on 08/24/2005 3:15:02 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Guns At Work
Big business and the gun lobby are going at it over workplace firearms. Will the Bush administration pick sides?
By Robert B. Reich
Web Exclusive: 08.18.05
Listen to the evening news and you’re likely to hear a grizzly story about a disaffected worker or estranged spouse or dissatisfied customer arriving at a workplace and going ballistic. It’s all too common.
About 17 employees are murdered every week in American workplaces by someone with a gun, making gun-related killings the third-biggest safety hazard facing American workers -- right after vehicles and machines. In fact, gun-related homicide is the leading cause of death at the workplace for women.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina have shown that killings are five times more likely to occur at workplaces where guns are allowed as where they’re prohibited. It’s just common sense.
So what are we doing about this? Some well-known American companies are taking action. It’s government that’s the problem.
A while back, the Weyerhauser Corporation banned weapons in cars parked in its employee parking lots. Workers who thereafter arrived with shotguns, handguns, rifles, and automatic weapons were fired.
But legislators in Oklahoma didn’t like this at all. Apparently Oklahoma’s lawmakers are more concerned about protecting gun owners than protecting average working people. So they enacted a state law preventing companies from instituting no-guns-in-company-parking-lot policies. Unless something’s done, the law goes into effect this November.
Thankfully, something is being done. A group of companies is going to court to block that Oklahoma law. They say they have a right to take action to protect their employees on company property. These companies -- including the energy giant Halliburton; aircraft-part maker Nordam; and ConocoPhillips, the largest oil refiner in America -- deserve the thanks of workers in Oklahoma and in any other states where gun-fawning lawmakers are intent on endangering them.
True to form, the National Rifle Association is taking a stand against these companies, and in favor of people who want to bring guns to work. It’s even organizing a boycott of ConocoPhillips gas stations.
Now, you may ask, where is the federal government in all this? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is supposed to set national policy for workplace safety. Since it was established more than 30 years ago, OSHA has often been corporate America’s worst nightmare, focusing its enforcement on picayune rules and regulations.
Now here’s OSHA’s chance to side with corporate America and protect workers’ lives. OSHA ought to ban guns in every workplace across America -- thereby preempting the Oklahoma legislation and sending the National Rifle Association packing.
If OSHA fails to take action on this one, you might suspect that the National Rifle Association has trained its sights on the Bush administration.
About 17 employees are murdered every week in American workplaces by someone with a gun
Almost 100,000 persons die in America every year by Medical errors and poor doctors, etc. When will Reich discover that and make it his next cause celeb???
I'm talking about a real study, something that John Lott Jr. might comment on. Haven't seen anything on this issue. As I suggested, Mr. Reich likely just made this up as he typed along and hoped nobody would call him on it.
"About 17 employees are murdered every week in American workplaces by someone with a gun"
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
Employer Policies Toward Guns and the Risk of Homicide in the Workplace
Dana Loomis, PhD ,Stephen W. Marshall, PhD andMyduc L. Ta, MPH The authors are with the Department of Epidemiology and the Injury Prevention Research Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dana Loomis is also with the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Dana Loomis, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, CB-7435 UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7435 (e-mail: dana.loomis@unc.edu).
This population-based case–control study of North Carolina workplaces evaluated the hypothesis that employers’ policies allowing firearms in the workplace may increase workers’ risk of homicide. Workplaces where guns were permitted were about 5 times as likely to experience a homicide as those where all weapons were prohibited (adjusted odds ratio=4.81; 95% confidence interval=1.70, 13.65). The association remained after adjustment for other risk factors. The findings suggest that policies allowing guns in the workplace might increase workers’ risk of homicide.
The abstract (and the full article, if you want to pay for it -- $7.00 for one day's on-line access to it) can be found at http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/95/5/830
The methodology is specious. This is not an actual study of a study of a large number of workplaces or the numbers associated with them; instead, it is a "study" of "factors" found by looking at a grand total of 264 workplaces (87 where there was an employee homicide, and 177 where no employee homicides occurred.) No idea on the methodology of choosing the 264, but I would not be surprised if it was just as shoddy as everything else I can see about this "study".
It's a pity that Mr. Reich didn't actually bother to cite his study, but I think it is a good guess that this is the one.
Wouldn't the "average working people" BE gun owners? This is Oklahoma, most of them are probably not clueless liberals, after all.
If the feds use any more back door tactics, I don't think my "back door" is going to be able to take it.
No. More like bizarre.
Let me get this straight Mr. secy. you honestly believe that banning guns from the workplace (or anywhere else)is going to stop disgruntled employees that snap from shooting up the place. You really believe this? Then please explain to me D.C.'s rise in violent/gun related crime since that $h!thole banned guns.
"I hope our mail carriers don't hear about the proposed ban, they might go postal"
Reminds me of the story of a friend of a friend...Applied for a job at the post office...they asked what qualifications he had....he responded, "Well, I already own a gun"....needless to say he didn't get the job.
Don't forget Don Perata.
About 17 employees are murdered every week in American workplaces by someone with a gun...
ok, lets see how we can pad this statistic.
lets start by mincing words and using the absolute most basic defintion of murder. to kill.
and employee. one who works.
how about workplace. a place where you work.
american workplace. any workplace in america, or owned by an american company.
ok. lets look at some situations that you could use.
guy is holding up a store and is gunned down. fits my definition.
if a person has a home business and guns down a home invader. that'd fit.
gang violence? if the gangster holds a job, (which if you define very loosely, drug dealer could be considered a job)
a cop, trucker, etc. hits someone with a work car. fits my definitions right?
here's the really big place to pad it tho. armed forces. american employees, killing people with guns.
Is OSHA required to base its nannying upon scientific studies?
That makes sense. You have cracked the Liberal Code...we have to put you in witness protection!!
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