Chuck Currie provides us with the following statistics, that unless he provides a legitimate citation for, I am going to assume he pulled out of his ass:
Gun Facts:
1. Each year in the U.S., nearly 30,000 people die from gunfire.
2. Guns kept in the home for self-protection are 22 times more likely to kill a family member or friend than to kill in self-defense.
3. The presence of a gun in the home triples the risk of a homicide in the home.
4. The presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide five-fold.
I think a response is needed, as it is possible some deluded soul might think Chuck Currie makes a plausible argument for gun control. First of all, lets look at his reference to 30,000 gun deaths, which if you recall he does not provide a source for. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say he is not imagining that figure and he’s not being a bald-faced liar. Even if we accept that figure, compare that to the following statistics. In the United States, the leading causes of death are:
Heart disease: 652, 486
Cancer: 553,888
Stroke: 150,074
Chronic Lower Respiratory Illness: 121,987
The point? You are more likely to die of a heart attack from eating too much McDonalds or cancer from sitting too close to the television than you are of dying from a gunshot wound. Does this mean Chuck Currie is calling for a ban on fast food and television? Maybe. But if he is, he is not willing to sermonize and patronize us in regards to either for the sake of the fact that “gun control” is more popular and it is easier to hoodwink the American public into supporting “gun control” than it is too convince them their Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese should be banned for their own good.
Guns kept in the home for self-protection are 22 times more likely to kill a family member or friend than to kill in self-defense. Let’s grant that there are instances where a child finds a loaded gun left behind by a negligent parent. You are required to also stipulate that the majority of the time when a gun is used against an intruder, the person firing the gun generally is not aiming to kill. The point becomes moot as it is clear that the misuse of a weapon does not justify prohibiting those who are properly trained to use them from owning them.
The presence of a gun in the home triples the risk of a homicide in the home. Are you counting felons and violent criminal offenders who are legally prohibited from owning firearms? Probably so.
The presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide five-fold. Probably the same as for homes that have the following items in them as well: knives, razors, box cutters, automobiles in the garage, sleeping pills, electrical sockets, rope, nylon stockings, bathtubs. Should we ban those too?
Yes, what Chuck Currie says about banning guns may sound good. Unfortunately, Chuck Currie says a lot of things that sound good but aren’t grounded in reality. It would be nice if we could live in a society where guns were not needed. Unfortunately, even in countries that have banned weapons, there are an abundance of violent people. In states with concealed carry laws, the crime rates have not gone up like anti-gun nuts frantically predicted. It’s a shame they are so addicted to the abolition of someone’s basic right to bear arms that they ignore facts. Liberals generally don’t like the truth.
Posted by -kf 
