Everybody’s Lying About the Link Between Gun Ownership and Homicide

[Alamo]

I feel like this might have been posted before, but I can't find it. So.

Everybody’s Lying About the Link Between Gun Ownership and Homicide

There is no clear correlation whatsoever between gun ownership rate and gun homicide rate. Not within the USA. Not regionally. Not internationally. Not among peaceful societies. Not among violent ones. Gun ownership doesn’t make us safer. It doesn’t make us less safe. A bivariate correlation simply isn’t there. It is blatantly not-there. It is so tremendously not-there that the “not-there-ness” of it alone should be a huge news story.
And anyone with access to the internet and a basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel can check for themselves. Here’s how you do it.

The author goes on to detail the shenanigans Everytown for Gun Safety et al pull to make their statistics fit their narrative. Well worth a read.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Tagged

 

[rob63]

Interesting article. The comments at the end of it are an excellent example of why it is so difficult to convince anybody of anything; a bunch of people explaining to the author why it can't possibly be so in spite of his data.

 

[Mgderf]

Interesting to be sure, but I seriously doubt it will change many minds.
Anti's don't let facts get in their way, as a general rule.

"It's for the children, or don't you care...?"

 

[cosermann]

Why would anyone expect there to be a link between a particular tool and homicide?
Homicide is an action of the human will. Tools don't cause actions.

Here's a question, do the firearm death rates in the referenced wikipedia article INCLUDE people who lawfully defended themselves against serious bodily injury or death, or is it just a total "number" killed with a firearm REGARDLESS OF THE REASON? It's an important difference.

 

[Dimik]

I've read a study by CDC and one by the National Academy of Science (should have saved them), looking at violent crime in relation to gun ownership. Particularly the spike that followed handgun confiscation in the UK looked very convincing. Basically what they found was that in every country that banned or confiscated guns, there was a spike in violent crime inversely proportional to the number of guns on hands of the people. There was one country where it wasn't true. Norway or something.

 

[cosermann]

... Particularly the spike that followed handgun confiscation in the UK looked very convincing. Basically what they found was that in every country that banned or confiscated guns, there was a spike in violent crime inversely proportional to the number of guns on hands of the people. ...

Right, which to my mind highlights one problem with the OP's linked article - it conflates so many variables you wouldn't expect to see a correlation. What I mean is there are so many factors in violence that have nothing to do with the tools used - socio/political/economic/cultural factors - that when you do these comparisions between countries, just looking at, say firearms, it doesn't tell you much because there are so many other important factors involved.

For example, Japan has comparatively little violence and comparatively low gun ownership vs. Switzerland that has comparaively little violence and comparatively high gunownership. Converse examples can be found. But the thing is you've also got wildly different socio/political/economic/cultural factors involved in those different countries.

There's much more going on with violence that simply the availability of certain tools.

But, if you look at places like the UK or Aus before/after gun bans, all those socio/political/economic/cultural issues are factored out (since it's the same country). Similarly, looking at U.S. states before/after CCW legislation, and so on.

One thing I do think should be clear however, is that tools don't cause the behavior. The trigger does NOT pull the finger.

Bottom line, however, is that the antis don't care. It isn't REALLY about safety, crime, or "the children." It's simply about control and the concentration power.

Those other "reasons" are just plausible political cover.

 

[Leadeye]

"Every communist must grasp the idea that political power grows from the barrel of a gun."

Chairman Mao

 

[Mgderf]

"Every communist must grasp the idea that political power grows from the barrel of a gun."

Chairman Mao

"...and if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow..."

 

[Leadeye]

"...and if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow..."

Old people we are.

There are times though when I see some people who act like they would welcome a "cultural revolution" here in America.

Those people scare me, either way I don't know if they're just ignorant or really mean it.