statistics1

"Gun control"...based on facts...or TV generated hysteria?

Did the six o'clock news ever report that in an average year, more people died from falls and poisoning than were killed by criminals with guns?

When the press lies to you, it's called "propaganda". Now you can bust the propaganda with these facts straight from the Centers for Disease Control.

The following statistics produced by: Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control

Data Source: National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Vital Statistics System.

Color coding:

20 Leading Causes of Death, United States, 1998, All ages, Races, Both Sexes

Deaths from Unintentional Injuries and Adverse Effects,1998, All ages, Races, Both Sexes.

Deaths from firearms,1998 All ages, races, Both Sexes.

Cause of Death...........................Number of Deaths..............."Common Sense" Solutions

Heart Disease..........................................................724,859.................................................Ban high fat "assault" foods?

Malignant Neoplasms.............................................541,532

Cerebro-vascular......................................................158,448

Bronchitis Emphysema Asthma...........................112,584

Total Unintentional Injury...........................97,835................................Ban stupidity and Acts of God?

Deaths due to Medical Malpractice*..............95,000........................................................Ban Doctors?

Pneumonia& Influenza..............................................91,871.....................................................Ban bacteria and viruses?

Diabetes.......................................................................64,751

Total Motor Vehicle Traffic.........................42,191..........................................Ban and confiscate cars?

Total Suicide................................................................30,575...............................Ban depression and painful illnesses?

Nephritis.......................................................................26,182

Liver Disease..............................................................25,192................................................Ban alcohol and drug abuse?

Septicemia..................................................................23,731

Alzheimer Disease....................................................22,725

Homicide & Legal Int.................................................18,272.......................Isn't murder allready illegal? Ban criminals?

Suicide by firearms.....................................17,424.....Ban guns, razors, ropes, pills, garages and bridges?

Alcohol-related traffic crashes......................15,935...................Ban alcohol? Didn't we try that allready?

Athero-sclerosis.........................................................15,279..............................Mandatory "fat safety tests" for all foods?

Hypertension...............................................................14,308.................................................................Ban salt and stress?

Perinatal Period..........................................................13,428

HIV..................................................................................13,426................Licensing and registration of ****** before sex?

Falls...........................................................12,595........................Background checks for ladder sales?

CongenitalAnomalies................................................11,934.......Mandatory genetics "safety test" before baby license?

Poisoning....................................................10,801.....................Safety test to buy household chemicals?

Benign Neoplasms......................................................7,933

Firearms, criminals killing other criminals......7,745......Isn't it allready illegal for criminals to carry guns?

Unspecified Unintentional Injuries..................7,118..............................Five day wait before risk taking?

Hernia.............................................................................6,635.....................................Mandatory hernia belts for everyone?

Suffocation...................................................4,585................................"Safety locks" for plastic bags?

Drowning/submersion...................................4,406..........................Ban all swimming and water sports?

Firearms, citizens killed by criminals..............3,990.......................Isn't murder allready against the law?

Fire/burn.....................................................3,363...Mandatory licensing and registration of all matches?

Medical Care, Adverse Effects.......................3,228.......................................Make medical care illegal?

Transport injuries, other................................1,903

Other specified and classifiable inuries............1,597

Natural/environmental injuries.......................1,522.................................Background checks for hikers?

Struck by, against.........................................1,059

Machinery....................................................1,018...............................................Shut down factorys?

Pedestrian, other.............................................957..........................Ban cross walks? Walking permits?

Firearm, unintentional.....................................866..............Confiscate the 200 million guns in the U.S.?

Firearm, justifiable homocide, police................367..................................................This is a bad thing?

Drug, Adverse Effects.....................................276....................................................Ban pharmacies?

Pedal cyclist, other..........................................142................................................Ban "assault bikes"?

Cut/pierce.......................................................121...............................Pass "steak knife control" laws?

Other specified/NEC.........................................73

Overexertion....................................................14

*Harvard Medical Practice Study 1990

These stunning statistics show the Big Lie that media generated gun hysteria is. There are 280 million human beings in the United States.

Firearm suicides: Why should the rights of 280 million people be restricted because a miniscule percentage,17,424, choose to committ suicide with a firearm? Can we be made responible for their mental illness? In Japan, where guns are completely banned, suicide rates are twice as high as in the U.S. There are whole books written about how to commit suicide without using a gun.

Criminals killing criminals: This is one of the biggest lies of the "anti-gun" crowd. They usually phrase it as, "Every day, 13 children die by gunfire in the U.S." They don't say that most of these are hardened gangsters killing other gangsters over drug turf, or that their definition of "children" includes 19 year olds. Criminals will always find ways to kill eachother. In maximum security prisons, prisoners kill each other at a higher rate than outside the prison, with homemade weapons. People who want to kill other people will always find a way.

Why should 70 million law abiding gun owners suffer because of a tiny handfull of criminals? Isn't it already against the law for criminals to have guns? Isn't murder already against the law?

Criminals killing citizens: As already stated, murder is already against the law.This is a tiny fraction of the population. Baseball bats, knives, hands and feet are also listed as murder weapons in the statistics charts.

The real way to handle this is to first target the cause of the trouble: the criminals. Laws like "10-20-Life" actually work as a deterent.

The real cause of increased violence in our society as a whole is the corrupting influence of the mass media. The scientific data for this is more extensive than that linking tobacco to smoking. If we don't address the real issues behind the increase in violence, we will continue to have more and more of it, no matter what we ban. The first step is to stop the Big Lie about gun ownership.

Finally, let's look beyond the tiny, miniscule percentage of people who misuse firearms because they are criminals or mentally ill. How do these small numbers weigh against the GOOD that firearms do?

Guns are used to successfully ward off criminal attack up to 2.5 million times a year.

33 states with concealed weapons laws have experienced signifigant drops in crime, especially rape and murder. How many lives do good guns SAVE every year?

Detail on firearm deaths:

Number of deaths from firearms, 1998

Total: All races, both sexes .................................. 29,526

Suicide by firearms..............................................17,424

Homicide and legal intervention by firearms...........12,102

Firearm, unintentional..............................................866

Injury by firearms, undetermined whether

accidentally or purposefully inflicted.........................413

Firearm, justifiable homocide, police.........................367

The FBI's report for 1998, "Crime in the United States", and it's Supplemental Homicide Reports, show that fully two-thirds of all firearm homicides involve criminals killing criminals.

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1998 United States

Homicide and Legal Intervention

All Ages, All Races, Both Sexes

Total Deaths: 18,272

Cause of Death Number

of Deaths Percentage of Deaths

Firearm 12,102 66.2%

Cut/pierce 2,088 11.4%

Unspecified 1,469 8.0%

Other specified / NEC 874 4.8%

Suffocation 661 3.6%