[ExI] FW: gun deaths

[spike]

Forwarding for Damien Sullivan.  All of this commentary is his.

-----Original Message-----
From: Damien Sullivan [mailto:phoenix at mindstalk.net] 
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2014 8:20 PM
To: spike66 at att.net
Subject: gun deaths

Was dipping briefly into the extrolist archives.  I don't think I'm
subscribed anymore.

"I don't expect much from USA Today, but it would be helpful if they would
differentiate between the type of firearm fatality."

http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_us.html
http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/nfirates2001.html
give death rates by cause and non-fatal injury rates by cause.

2/3 of gun deaths are suicides.  Almost all of the rest are homicide; legal
intervention and accident are both small, though still bigger than mass
shootings.  No justifiable homicide breakdown... oh wait:

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.
-2010/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded/expandhomicidemain
"Law enforcement reported 665 justifiable homicides in 2010. Of those, law
enforcement officers justifiably killed 387 felons, and private citizens
justifiably killed 278 people during the commission of a crime"

So "legal intervention" might mean justifiable, not just "cops".
Though CDC itself says "Legal Intervention - injuries inflicted by the
police or other law-enforcing agents, including military on duty, in the
course of arresting or attempting to arrest lawbreakers, suppressing
disturbances, maintaining order, and other legal actions. Excludes injuries
caused by civil insurrections." 

Either way we're talking a few hundred, compared to around 12,000 gun
homicides.  

 From other sources, at least 8000 of the gun homicides are from handguns.
I suspect that if guns were subject to unlimited strict liability paid by
the registered owner, then the insurance premiums for handguns would be at
least 10x those for long guns; there's more of the latter and they kill far
fewer people.

The FBI page doesn't try to call out "gang war", though one could try
guessing limits based on what is known about homicides (friends, family,
arguments, etc.)

Accidental gun deaths are pretty small, so while I'm friendly to various gun
control ideas, I mock "mandatory training" and analogies to cars.
Gun deaths aren't from people not knowing how to use their guns, they're
from people wanting to kill people.  Usually themselves.

Feel free to either paraphrase or just forward to the list.

-xx- Damien X-)