Anti-gun Laws
Aug 7, 2017 10:10:27 GMT -6
Post by Todd on Aug 7, 2017 10:10:27 GMT -6
Do accidental deaths provide an adequate argument for outlawing personal gun ownership? Should we give up our rights to bear arms for statistical reasons? Are there too many accidents? Too many children accidentally killed? What would an acceptable number be? One in a million? One in a hundred million? Do not pretend that this is silly. Do not think that I am asking questions we have never faced before. I'm only asking them as a way to sharpen our definitions and thinking about gun related topics.
We have already faced these exact questions in regard to personal automobiles. We know beyond a doubt that thousands of people (passengers and bystanders) will die in car wrecks this year. But where are the voices demanding that we give up our cars? So far as I know I am the only person ever to advocate such a thing. Where are the voices demanding that felons and those convicted of DUI have their licenses revoked? Where are the voices demanding much more stringent testing lest licenses continue to be handed out willy-nilly? Or those demanding harsher penalties for driving violations that might result in death or serious injury? Nobody is seriously voicing these questions because we, as a society, have already accepted the accidental deaths caused by these as "normal" and "acceptable."
If even one accidental gun death is too many, we are no longer arguing on the basis of statistics, but on principle. (And this is surely the best way to make a cogent argument.) So if it is better to ban guns than to tolerate even one accidental gun death, then let us ban guns without another thought. But we must, by the same argument, ban cars, airplanes, alcohol consumption, and swimming.
In principle, this is sound reasoning. But we recognize that accidents are going to happen, no matter what. So we will keep our cars, planes, and liquor. And we must keep our guns as well. The personal protection by means of sidearms has a much higher "moral priority," and a far better record than either driving or drinking. For the sake of those souls so soaked in statistics that they have forgotten principles, we provide the following statistics for the year 2010:
According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the number of accidental deaths in America by gunshot was: 606.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of deaths in America from Automobile accidents was: 32,885 (over 50 times as many as by accidental gunshot).
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of deaths in America from Alcohol-related automobile accidents was: 10,228 (a little shy of 17 times as many as by accidental gunshot).
According to the Center for Disease Control, deaths in America from Alcohol poisoning was approximately: 2,221 (approximately three and a half times as many as by accidental gunshot).
According to the Center for Disease Control, the number of all Alcohol-related deaths was approximately: 88,000 (approximately 145 times as many as by accidental gunshot).
Let the anti-gun folks get back to me when they can deal with these problems. But in the meantime, the question arises as to whether accidental deaths are actually part of the "reasoning" the anti-gun folks use in the attempt to ban guns. Either way, anti-gun legislation will only affect the law-abiding people, turning them into sheep for slaughter by those who do not obey the law. The lawless will be the only ones with guns, and the law-abiding will be their lawful targets.
But be all that as it may, any society that condones the deliberate murder of the unborn has forfeited its right to cry about any accidental death.
We have already faced these exact questions in regard to personal automobiles. We know beyond a doubt that thousands of people (passengers and bystanders) will die in car wrecks this year. But where are the voices demanding that we give up our cars? So far as I know I am the only person ever to advocate such a thing. Where are the voices demanding that felons and those convicted of DUI have their licenses revoked? Where are the voices demanding much more stringent testing lest licenses continue to be handed out willy-nilly? Or those demanding harsher penalties for driving violations that might result in death or serious injury? Nobody is seriously voicing these questions because we, as a society, have already accepted the accidental deaths caused by these as "normal" and "acceptable."
If even one accidental gun death is too many, we are no longer arguing on the basis of statistics, but on principle. (And this is surely the best way to make a cogent argument.) So if it is better to ban guns than to tolerate even one accidental gun death, then let us ban guns without another thought. But we must, by the same argument, ban cars, airplanes, alcohol consumption, and swimming.
In principle, this is sound reasoning. But we recognize that accidents are going to happen, no matter what. So we will keep our cars, planes, and liquor. And we must keep our guns as well. The personal protection by means of sidearms has a much higher "moral priority," and a far better record than either driving or drinking. For the sake of those souls so soaked in statistics that they have forgotten principles, we provide the following statistics for the year 2010:
According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the number of accidental deaths in America by gunshot was: 606.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of deaths in America from Automobile accidents was: 32,885 (over 50 times as many as by accidental gunshot).
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of deaths in America from Alcohol-related automobile accidents was: 10,228 (a little shy of 17 times as many as by accidental gunshot).
According to the Center for Disease Control, deaths in America from Alcohol poisoning was approximately: 2,221 (approximately three and a half times as many as by accidental gunshot).
According to the Center for Disease Control, the number of all Alcohol-related deaths was approximately: 88,000 (approximately 145 times as many as by accidental gunshot).
Let the anti-gun folks get back to me when they can deal with these problems. But in the meantime, the question arises as to whether accidental deaths are actually part of the "reasoning" the anti-gun folks use in the attempt to ban guns. Either way, anti-gun legislation will only affect the law-abiding people, turning them into sheep for slaughter by those who do not obey the law. The lawless will be the only ones with guns, and the law-abiding will be their lawful targets.
But be all that as it may, any society that condones the deliberate murder of the unborn has forfeited its right to cry about any accidental death.
