Gun Ownership and Homocides
Friday, December 6, 2002 by Aqua. | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
6 States With Most Guns and Homicides
By Cathryn Conroy, CompuServe News Editor
Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Wyoming, West Virginia, Arkansas, which are the six states with the highest rates of gun ownership, have more than 21,000 homicides combined. That is nearly three times as many as the four states with the lowest rates of gun ownership, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, according to a new study from Harvard University's School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.
The study, which used U.S. Census data from nine regions and 50 states, implies "that guns, on balance, lethally imperil rather than protect Americans," lead author Dr. Matthew Miller told Reuters. "This inference is consistent with previous...studies that have found that the presence of a gun in the home is a risk factor for homicide, and starkly at odds with the unsubstantiated, yet often adduced, notion that guns are a public good." Reuters notes that the link between household gun ownership and homicide rate was found in all nine census regions, and at the state level it existed for all homicide victims older than age 5.
People who live in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Wyoming, West Virginia, and Arkansas are more than three times as likely to be murdered and four times as likely to die from a gun-related homicide than people who lived in the low gun-ownership states of Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. In the six high gun-ownership states, about half of all households have firearms, compared with 13 percent of households in the low gun-ownership states. The Harvard team said they are not certain if the higher rates of household gun ownership are a cause or a result of the increased number of homicides. "It is possible, for example, that locally elevated homicide rates may have led to increased local gun acquisition," they write in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health where the research was published.
Throwing a bone to Jafa
By Cathryn Conroy, CompuServe News Editor
Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Wyoming, West Virginia, Arkansas, which are the six states with the highest rates of gun ownership, have more than 21,000 homicides combined. That is nearly three times as many as the four states with the lowest rates of gun ownership, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, according to a new study from Harvard University's School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.
The study, which used U.S. Census data from nine regions and 50 states, implies "that guns, on balance, lethally imperil rather than protect Americans," lead author Dr. Matthew Miller told Reuters. "This inference is consistent with previous...studies that have found that the presence of a gun in the home is a risk factor for homicide, and starkly at odds with the unsubstantiated, yet often adduced, notion that guns are a public good." Reuters notes that the link between household gun ownership and homicide rate was found in all nine census regions, and at the state level it existed for all homicide victims older than age 5.
People who live in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Wyoming, West Virginia, and Arkansas are more than three times as likely to be murdered and four times as likely to die from a gun-related homicide than people who lived in the low gun-ownership states of Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. In the six high gun-ownership states, about half of all households have firearms, compared with 13 percent of households in the low gun-ownership states. The Harvard team said they are not certain if the higher rates of household gun ownership are a cause or a result of the increased number of homicides. "It is possible, for example, that locally elevated homicide rates may have led to increased local gun acquisition," they write in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health where the research was published.
Throwing a bone to Jafa
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Kimbabe
Reply #23 Sunday, December 8, 2002 1:39 AM
Reply #23 Sunday, December 8, 2002 1:39 AM
If you own a gun, don't come calling on me. A man who feels he needs to own a gun is nothing more than the man who has to own a corvette because of his lack of manhood. I won't say anything more than this. There will never be a gun in my home so there will never be a man who owns one either. I agree with Dangeruss, a flick of an index finger can make a murderer out of someone who would not normally be one. >
snowzone5
Reply #24 Sunday, December 8, 2002 2:20 AM
Reply #24 Sunday, December 8, 2002 2:20 AM
i don't feel the need to own a gun...i was a collector. some where never even fired.
but i'm in canada, and our gun laws are pretty heavy, and in a wee bit of a mess right now...
i just sold over 20 firearms as i couldn't be bothered with the mounting paperwork...
either way, as far as i know criminals STILL don't have to follow the gun laws
but i'm in canada, and our gun laws are pretty heavy, and in a wee bit of a mess right now...
i just sold over 20 firearms as i couldn't be bothered with the mounting paperwork...
either way, as far as i know criminals STILL don't have to follow the gun laws
Bangkokboy
Reply #25 Monday, December 9, 2002 7:36 PM
Reply #25 Monday, December 9, 2002 7:36 PM
Kimbabe - "A man who feels he needs to own a gun is nothing more than the man who has to own a corvette because of his lack of manhood"
i don't know or care about people's reasons for owning corvettes, but my gun ownership motivation has nothing to do with my manhood or lack thereof, and everything to do with my family's safety. If you're absolutely determined to attack those with different opinions, then at least try to put some thought value into the attack. Challenging someone's manhood and trying to verbally castrate him for simply holding an opinion that you don't approve of is not a mark of high intelligence.
i don't know or care about people's reasons for owning corvettes, but my gun ownership motivation has nothing to do with my manhood or lack thereof, and everything to do with my family's safety. If you're absolutely determined to attack those with different opinions, then at least try to put some thought value into the attack. Challenging someone's manhood and trying to verbally castrate him for simply holding an opinion that you don't approve of is not a mark of high intelligence.
Kinrik
Reply #26 Tuesday, December 10, 2002 1:10 PM
Reply #26 Tuesday, December 10, 2002 1:10 PM
listen to the texan...
wait...what did i just say?
listen to bkb...sounds more intelligent that way
wait...what did i just say?
listen to bkb...sounds more intelligent that way
Kinrik
Reply #27 Tuesday, December 10, 2002 1:16 PM
Reply #27 Tuesday, December 10, 2002 1:16 PM
i love all those people who believe cops and laws will solve everything. traffic tickets are a dime a dozen for 5 over the limit, but where's the cop when the shots are ringing? playing catch up, as usual. who ya gonna call?
i also love the defiant type who believe they should do nothing except mourn when they are on the receiving end and still not try to fix the situation except to vote to hinder the law abiding from protecting themselves in a manner they deem fit, rather than turn the other cheek and suck lead.
however, i don't go around saying they have to own and learn to use a weapon, and don't say they are crap or mentally ill if they refuse to see things my way.
i also love the defiant type who believe they should do nothing except mourn when they are on the receiving end and still not try to fix the situation except to vote to hinder the law abiding from protecting themselves in a manner they deem fit, rather than turn the other cheek and suck lead.
however, i don't go around saying they have to own and learn to use a weapon, and don't say they are crap or mentally ill if they refuse to see things my way.
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Reply #21 Saturday, December 7, 2002 6:30 PM
While I agree that people kill other people, not guns per se, the availability of the ubiquitous handgun makes it so much easier to do so. I believe that many suicides and homicides stem from the convienience of handguns. It's only a flick of an index finger... too damned easy if your nightstand has a weapon in it.