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  1. #1
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    Default Gun ownership debate -- Link to brilliant site with facts & statistics (please share other resources

    Hi All,

    I have been having an argument with an old varsity mate of mine who now lives in the USA. He is a SA guy who has been living there for around 15 years (or so). On the basis of our discussions, it appears that he is largely (a) anti-gun; (b) in favour of additional restrictions being imposed on lawful, law-abiding gun owners in general, as well as on the specific types and categories of guns that law-abiding people should be allowed to own (ie. semi-auto AR type weapons, magazines holding more than 8 shots for all guns etc); and (c) largely believes the half-truths and lies being spread by much of the mainstream media (MSM), more than likely based on the "stats" and "research" prepared by the anti-gun lobby groups.

    During the course of this debate, I came across the following website which, I believe, is a really useful resource because it provides consolidated stats and information, along with links to specific US government sources and well-respected research conducted by reputable universities and think-tanks.

    See link: http://www.gunfacts.info/gun-policy-...ns/#note-93-10


    In addition, please would the other GS members post links here to useful sources and/or research which supports the pro-gun argument and which help to debunk the "pop-research" bandied around by the anti-gun lobby groups and the MSM.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Gun ownership debate -- Link to brilliant site with facts & statistics (please share other resou

    Here are some extracts from the "Crime and Guns" page of that website (with footnotes and links to the sources):
    Crime and Guns

    Basic to the debates on gun control is the fact that most violent crime is committed by repeat offenders. Dealing with recidivism is key to solving violence.

    • 71% of gunshot victims had previous arrest records.
    • 64% had been convicted of a crime.
    • Victims had an average of 11 prior arrests. 1, 2
    • 63% of victims had criminal histories and 73% of that group knew their assailant (twice as often as victims without criminal histories). 3
    • 74% of homicides during the commission of a felony involve guns. 4





    Myth: Criminals buy guns at gun stores and gun shows



    Fact:
    Less than 1% of crime guns are acquired at gun shows, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. 5

    Fact: Only 7.3% of traced guns were recovered from the individual who first bought the gun. 6
    Fact: One study 7of adult offenders living in Chicago or nearby determined that criminals obtain most of their guns through their social network and personal connections. Rarely is the proximate source either direct purchase from a gun store, or even theft. This agrees with other, broader studies of incarcerated felons.
    Fact: Another city-wide study, 8 this one in Pittsburgh, showed that 80% of people illegally carrying guns were prohibited from possessing guns, and that a minimum of 30% of the guns were stolen.
    Fact: Other common arrangements include sharing guns and holding guns for others. 9



  3. #3
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    Default Re: Gun ownership debate -- Link to brilliant site with facts & statistics (please share other resou

    Myth: Guns are not a good deterrent to crime



    Fact:
    Guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year or 6,849 every day. 10 Most often, the gun is never fired and no blood (including the criminal’s) is shed.

    Fact: Property crime rates are dropping (especially burglaries). The chart shows the legal handgun supply in America (mainly in civilian hands) relative to the property crime rate. 11
    Fact: Every year 400,000 life-threatening violent crimes are prevented using firearms.
    Fact: 60% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they knew the victim was armed. 40% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they thought the victim might be armed. 12
    Fact: Felons report that they avoid entering houses where people are at home because they fear being shot. 13
    Fact: 59% of the burglaries in Britain, which has tough gun control laws, are “hot burglaries” 14 which are burglaries committed while the home is occupied by the owner/renter. By contrast, the U.S., with more lenient gun control laws, has a “hot burglary” rate of only 13%. 15
    Fact: Washington DC has essentially banned gun ownership since 1976 16 and has a murder rate of 56.9 per 100,000. Across the river in Arlington, Virginia, gun ownership is less restricted. There, the murder rate is just 1.6 per 100,000, less than three percent of the Washington, DC rate. 17
    Fact: 26% of all retail businesses report keeping a gun on the premises for crime control. 18
    Fact: In 1982, Kennesaw, GA passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. The residential burglary rate dropped 89% the following year. 19
    Fact: A survey of felons revealed the following: 20

    • 74% of felons agreed that, “One reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime.”
    • 57% of felons polled agreed, “Criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police.”

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Gun ownership debate -- Link to brilliant site with facts & statistics (please share other resou

    Although these facts and statistics are not all 100% applicable to our situation here in SA, there are obvious overlaps and parallels with our local situation, especially in relation to (a) private gun ownership; (b) the likelihood that the presence of an armed civilian gun-owner can (and does) prevent or reduce criminal acts or, in some cases, actually results in the immediate end to the criminal attack (or results in the perp being stopped); (c) the fact that additional restrictions on lawful gun-ownership (and amnesties) are unlikely to reduce crime levels to any material extent etc etc...

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