How to Spot Misleading Statistics in the Gun Control Debate

[Maxwell]

I was expecting something like:
They all start with "Only xx% of..."

[WildRose]

An interesting point.

The question should not be, "Do guns prevent crime?" The question should be, "Are guns useful at resisting crime?"

To illustrate the difference, let’s suppose that I encounter a mugger while taking a walk. I brandish my firearm to the mugger, who is undeterred and rushes me with a knife. I then shoot the mugger, stopping the crime. In that situation, my gun has failed to prevent a crime, but it was successful at resisting a crime. The gun was an effective and reasonable means of self-defense even though it failed to deter the would-be mugger.

https://fee.org/articles/how-to-spot-mi ... ol-debate/

In both cases the answer is yes. Jail/prison interviews with offenders show a very high percentage of them having been previously deterred knowing or suspecting their target was armed and that about 75% of them know of others who have also been so deterred.

As for the rest, you won't stop an armed, determined attacker with a few kind words.

[srothstein]

One of the major problems with the gun control debate is the focus on crime overall. It really doesn't matter whether guns reduce crime or assist in resisting crime. The fact of the matter is that the right to own and bear all weapons (guns, knives, bows and arrows, missiles, tanks, cannon, etc.) is based on the fact that our system says that the citizen is the sovereign, not the government. This concept not only helps preserve the right to own firearms by guaranteeing our ability to defend ourselves from a tyrannical government, it actually lays a duty upon us to be prepared to take control back over the government.

In the US, citizens have a responsibility to control the government, first through voting but through whatever means necessary. We have been working hard on the first part but we all must remember that the second part is also our duty. I pray that it doesn't become necessary but I also pray that we are prepared if it does.