<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix"><br>
I'm replying to this again, because I took a look at the source
numbers for all these "gun deaths since Sandy Hook" articles. The
data comes from a project at slate.com that tracks the number of
gun deaths via the twitter feed @GunDeaths. This is a
crowd-sourcing initiative to tweet all local gun deaths so that
the data can be personalized.<br>
<br>
I think this is a great idea, although I'm not sure why it matters
that they started it right after the Sandy Hook shootings. Do
they think that this one event somehow is going to affect the
numbers on gun accidents, suicides, or most homicides? It's never
a bad idea to look at the data more closely, though, and if enough
people participate then it may actually become as reliable as the
CDC data, which comes from death certificates. In the future, it
has the potential to find any lurking problems with the CDC data
that they may not know about. I wonder if we could get the CDC to
give the public a sanitized database of this information, with all
personally-identifiable data removed.<br>
<br>
According to the data, as of a few minutes ago, there were 2883
gun deaths in the U.S. since Sandy Hook. Sandy Hook happened, by
my calculations, 99 days ago (17 + 31 + 28 + 23). That's a gun
death rate of 29.1 / day. Looking at the statistics from the CDC
for 2010, there were a total of 31672 deaths over a 365 day
period, which comes out to 88.8 gun deaths / day. So either the
number of gun deaths have dropped by around 2/3rds, or they happen
in a non-linear manner, or the data at the slate project is
incomplete (which is far more likely). I'll be interested to see
how this project goes, and whether or not the numbers fall in line
with those of the CDC over time. I'm also interested in the 2011
data, once the CDC completes their analysis of the data.<br>
<br>
Paul<br>
<br>
On 03/23/2013 10:23 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:0C9EE807-9F2A-4F65-AFF1-B67B0B769864@moscow.com"
type="cite">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<div>Pick a source, Mr. Rumelhart. ANY source. They are all
reporting gun deaths in excess of 2,000 since Newtown.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space:
nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26,
0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227,
0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180,
0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; "><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.google.com/search?q=gun+deaths+since+sandy+hook&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#q=gun+deaths+since+sandy+hook&hl=en&client=safari&ei=a-RNUeDmNYHeiALVoIGQDQ&start=20&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.&bvm=bv.44158598,d.cGE&fp=c1cc9d4856fbbb93&biw=1024&bih=644">https://www.google.com/search?q=gun+deaths+since+sandy+hook&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#q=gun+deaths+since+sandy+hook&hl=en&client=safari&ei=a-RNUeDmNYHeiALVoIGQDQ&start=20&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.&bvm=bv.44158598,d.cGE&fp=c1cc9d4856fbbb93&biw=1024&bih=644</a></span></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div>Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants
on)</div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.MoscowCares.com">http://www.MoscowCares.com</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>Tom Hansen</div>
<div>Moscow, Idaho</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>"<span style="font-size: medium;
-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);
-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227,
0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128,
180, 0.230469); ">There's room at the top they are telling
you still</span><span style="font-size: medium;
-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);
-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227,
0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128,
180, 0.230469); "> </span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color:
rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color:
rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469);
-webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180,
0.230469); ">But first you must learn how to smile as you
kill </span><br style="font-size: medium;
-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);
-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227,
0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128,
180, 0.230469); ">
<span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color:
rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color:
rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469);
-webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180,
0.230469); ">If you want to be like the folks on the hill."</span></div>
<div><font size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:
rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);
-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227,
0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128,
180, 0.230469);"><br>
</span></font></div>
<div><font size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:
rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);
-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227,
0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128,
180, 0.230469);">- John Lennon<br>
</span></font>
<div> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div><br>
On Mar 23, 2013, at 9:46 AM, Paul Rumelhart <<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:godshatter@yahoo.com">godshatter@yahoo.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>
<meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix"><br>
Gun safety is, perhaps, a place where a lot of people on
this list could potentially agree on this debate (at least
to some degree). I think using RFID chips to enable guns to
fire is just asking for a mis-fire or non-fire of the gun
just when you need it most, though. If we want to
child-proof anything, I'd suggest child-proofing gun cases.
I'd like to find some incentive to ensure that people are
storing their guns properly, but the only things I can think
of that would help is more safety training and laws that
affect the gun owner if a death occurs as a result of a
firearm discharging accidentally. I'm open to suggestions.<br>
<br>
I took a quick look at the statistics for gun accidents,
since the article only describes them as having "new
examples almost every day". According to the CDC, in 2010
(under "Nontransport accidents"), "Accidental discharge of
firearms" accounted for 606 deaths. I haven't found a
breakdown by child/adult, but I'll keep looking. The only
other age-related statistic I have found so far is that
there were 0 infant mortality deaths due to gun accidents.<br>
<br>
In case you're curious, here is the number of deaths for
each non-transport accident type, from the "2010 Mortality
Multiple Cause Micro Data Files" PDF (<a
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/deaths_2010_release.pdf">http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/deaths_2010_release.pdf</a>):<br>
<br>
<font face="Courier New, Courier, monospace">Falls
26,009<br>
Accidental discharge of firearms 606<br>
Accidental drowning 3,782<br>
Accidental exposure to fire 2,782<br>
Accidental poisoning 33,041<br>
Other unspecified 16,678<br>
Total 82,898<br>
<br>
<font face="sans-serif">Firearm accidents are the smallest
number in that list, but that doesn't mean we couldn't
do more to reduce that number. What I'd like to know is
why accidental poisoning is so high. More than 54 times
as many deaths by accidental poisoning as by accidental
discharge of firearms. Looking into it, I see it
consists mainly of drug causes (91%), including
prescription pain killers, cocaine, and heroin at the
top of the list.<br>
<br>
Paul<br>
<br>
</font></font><br>
On 03/23/2013 05:36 AM, Art Deco wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAB8VJX5K9C+bjWd1-RaBRyKmzRurxJkGLCKOVaMu7MDKkbdJeQ@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="">
<div class=""> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/"><img
moz-do-not-send="true"
src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/nytlogo153x23.gif"
alt="The New York Times" border="0" hspace="0"
vspace="0" align="left"></a> </div>
<div class=""> </div>
</div>
<br clear="all">
<hr size="1" align="left">
<div class="">March 22, 2013</div>
<h1>Saving Children From Guns</h1>
<h6 class="">By <span><span>JOE NOCERA</span></span></h6>
<div id="articleBody">
<p> For nearly two months, my assistant, <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.jennifermascia.com/">Jennifer
Mascia</a>, and I have been publishing <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://nocera.blogs.nytimes.com/category/gun-report/">a
daily blog</a> in which we aggregate articles about
shootings from the previous day. Of all the stories we
link to, the ones I find hardest to read are those
about young children who accidentally shoot themselves
or another child. They just break my heart. Yet
Jennifer and I find <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.google.com/search?q=child+shoots&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=child+shoots&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=xgX&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&psj=1&ei=m-xMUYWkAdSp4AOFzYDYCg&ved=0CA0Q_AUoBA&fp=1&biw=1730&bih=774&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&cad=b&sei=KPZMUeOdKafE4APM9IHgCw">new
examples almost every day</a>. </p>
<p> Partly, I react by thinking, “How can anyone be so
stupid as to leave a loaded gun within reach of a
small child?” But I also have another reaction. In
1970, Congress passed a law that resulted in
childproofing medicine bottles. The Consumer Product
Safety Commission regulates the paint used in
children’s toys. State laws mandate that young
children be required to use car seats. </p>
<p> So why can’t we childproof guns? In an age of
technological wizardry — not to mention a time of deep
sensitivity to the welfare of children — why can’t we
come up with a technology that would keep a gun from
going off when it is being held by a child? Or, for
that matter, by a thief using a stolen gun? Or an
angry teenager who is plotting to use his parents’
arsenal to wreak havoc in a mall? </p>
<p> It turns out — why is this not a surprise? — that
such technologies already exist. A German company,
Armartix, will soon be marketing <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.gizmag.com/armatrix-wristwatch-safety-system-for-handguns/14044/">a
pistol that uses radio frequencies</a> that prevent
a gun from being used by anyone except its owner. At
the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the senior
vice president for research and development, Donald
Sebastian, has long spearheaded an effort to develop
biometrics for “gun personalization,” as it’s called.
Guns employing this technology fire only when they
recognize the hand of the owner. There are others who
have invented similar technologies. </p>
<p> Why aren’t <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-shuster/smart-gun-technology_b_2324978.html">these
lifesaving technologies</a> in widespread use? No
surprise here, either: The usual irrational opposition
from the National Rifle Association and gun
absolutists, who claim, absurdly, that a gun that only
can be fired by its owner somehow violates the Second
Amendment. Pro-gun bloggers were furious when they saw
James Bond, in “Skyfall,” proudly showing off <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/11/skyfall_someone_should_make_james_bond_s_biometric_walther_ppk_s_gun.html">his
new biometrically protected weapon</a>. They were
convinced it was a Hollywood plot to undermine their
rights. </p>
<p> Yet there is reason for at least some hope that the
day when these technologies are in widespread use will
soon be here. Last week, there were two important
meetings about gun personalization technology. On
March 13, in Washington, Attorney General Eric Holder
Jr. met with several dozen advocates, including
Sebastian and Stephen Teret, the co-director of the
Center for Law and the Public Health at Johns Hopkins
University. The purpose of the meeting was to get
Holder up to speed on the technologies so he could
make recommendations to President Obama. </p>
<p> The following day, in San Francisco, <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.sandyhookpromise.org/">Sandy Hook
Promise</a>, an organization founded by citizens of
Newtown, Conn., <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://newtownbee.com/news/news/0001/11/30/sandy-hook-promise-launches-innovation-initiative/10397">publicly
launched</a> its “innovation initiative” in
collaboration with some Silicon Valley venture
capitalists and entrepreneurs. One of the leaders in
the effort is the venture capitalist Ron Conway, who
coincidentally threw a Christmas party on the day of
the Newtown massacre. Gabrielle Giffords was among
those who attended. Like so many others, Conway
decided he had to do something about guns after
Newtown. </p>
<p> The innovation initiative, which will make grants,
and even award prize money for good ideas, includes an
emphasis on gun personalization technology. A member
of the group, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.lagunabeachindependent.com/2012/07/26/guest-column-mirror-america/">Alan
Boinus</a>, who applied for a patent on a biometric
technology back in 1994, has founded a company, Allied
Biometrics, that is devoted to commercializing
biometric gun technology. He has already begun a
collaboration with Sebastian in New Jersey. </p>
<p> In classic Silicon Valley fashion, Boinus told me
that the government has been hopeless, and that
innovation and the market itself would solve the
problem. “The market will prove this out,” he said.
“People want to be responsible. People want safety.” </p>
<p> I agree with him that Congress has been hopeless and
then some, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/03/19/feinstein-assault-weapons-ban-reid-senate-bill/2000119/">unable
to even work up the courage</a> to vote on an
assault weapons ban for fear of offending gun owners.
But I’m not convinced that the market alone can create
mass acceptance of this technology. It took years,
after all, for Congress to overcome the car industry’s
resistance to air bags, ultimately requiring a law
that made air bags mandatory. </p>
<p> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html">Thousands
of lives</a> could be saved each year if gun
personalization technology became the law of the land.
In mid-April, Representative John Tierney, a
Massachusetts Democrat, plans to introduce a House
bill requiring that all guns include personalization
technology within two years. </p>
<p> Congress once cared enough about the safety of its
citizens to pass laws about air bags and childproof
bottles. We’ll soon find out if it still cares enough
about the safety of its constituents to make
childproofing guns the law of the land. It should. </p>
<div class=""> </div>
</div>
<br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:art.deco.studios@gmail.com" target="_blank">art.deco.studios@gmail.com</a><br>
<br>
<img moz-do-not-send="true"
src="http://users.moscow.com/waf/WP%20Fox%2001.jpg"><br>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<br>
<pre wrap="">=======================================================
List services made available by First Step Internet,
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.fsr.net">http://www.fsr.net</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com</a>
=======================================================</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div><span>=======================================================</span><br>
<span> List services made available by First Step Internet,</span><br>
<span> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.</span><br>
<span> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.fsr.net">http://www.fsr.net</a></span><br>
<span> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com</a></span><br>
<span>=======================================================</span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br>
</body>
</html>