[Vision2020] Can Gun Control Reduce Crime? (was 11 year girl)

[g. crabtree]

Japan has over twice the suicide rate of the U.S. and a tiny fraction of the 
guns we have. Obviously guns are not the significant determining factor 
where suicide is concerned. Trying to use suicide statistics and Japan to 
make your argument that guns are somehow inherently evil simply doesn't 
wash. Its true that in most cases that if you are inclined to take your own 
life and have access to a firearm you might use it but there is zero 
evidence that having access makes suicide more likely as the U.S./Japan 
statistics readily show. (An even more striking example would be Russia. 
Harsh gun control laws and suicide rate of 38.7 per 100,000) Surely you're 
not trying to make the incredibly feeble suggestion that it's somehow worse 
to die via self inflicted gun shot wound then some other means of demise? 
That would be silly even by the standards you have previously set.

g


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
To: "'g. crabtree'" <jampot at roadrunner.com>; <heirdoug at aim.com>; 
<ophite at gmail.com>
Cc: <vision2020 at moscow.com>; <idahotom at hotmail.com>; <fotopro63 at hotmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 2:51 PM
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Can Gun Control Reduce Crime? (was 11 year girl)


> You should go back and re-read my posting, g.
>
> It reads:
>
> "Country: Japan
> Prohibits handguns with few exceptions
> Households with Firearms: 0.6%
> Gun Homicide (per 100,000): 0.03
> Gun Suicide (per 100,000): 0.04
> Total Intentional Gun Death (per 100,000): 0.07"
>
> You will notice (I hope) the reference to "GUN [my emphasis] Homicide"
> (homicides where a gun is used) and "GUN [again, my emphasis] Suicide"
> (suicides where a gun is used).
>
> This restricts the data to only those homicides and suicides where a gun 
> was
> used.  Perhaps the suicide rate overall (including suicides by knife, gas,
> jumping off a cliff, jumping in front of a moving train, etc. etc.) is
> higher in Japan than in the US.  However, restricting the data to ONLY 
> those
> suicides where a gun is used, Japan is incredibly significantly lower (per
> 100,000) than the US (.04 versus 7.23).
>
> I certainly hope that the facts didn't confuse you.
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college
> students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."
>
> - Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: g. crabtree [mailto:jampot at roadrunner.com]
> Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 1:52 PM
> To: Tom Hansen; heirdoug at aim.com; ophite at gmail.com
> Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com; idahotom at hotmail.com; fotopro63 at hotmail.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Can Gun Control Reduce Crime? (was 11 year girl)
>
> Using Japan and suicide rates to bolster your argument rally doesn't work
> all that well.
>
> According to the W.H.O. the suicide rate in America Per 100,00 people was 
> 11
>
> in 2002.
>
> In Japan the rate was 23.8
>
> I suppose using your convoluted logic I should argue that guns are helping
> to reduce the suicide rate in the U.S.A.
>
> g
>
>
>