- A study sponsored by the Center for Disease Control compared gun owners and non owners of the same gender, race, age, and neighborhood. Those who kept a gun in the home (often for protection) were 2.7 times as likely to be murdered-nearly always by a family member or a close member acquaintance (Kellerman, 1993, 1997).
- Another study found that the risk of suicide in homes with guns was 5 times as high as in homes without them (Tuabes, 1992).
- Compared with others of the same gender, age, and race, people with guns at home were 41 percent as likely to be homicide victims and 3.4 times as likely to die of suicide (Wiebe, 2003).
Countries that ban handguns have lower murder rates. Compared with the United States, Britain has one-fourth as many people and one-sixteenth as many murders. The United States has 10,000 handgun homicides a year; Australia has about a dozen, Britain two dozen, and Canada 100. When Washington, D.C., adopted a law restricting handgun possession, the numbers of gun-related murders and suicides each abruptly dropped about 25 percent. No changes occurred in other methods of murder and suicide, nor did adjacent areas outside the reach of this law experience any other such declines (Loftin & others, 1991).
According to Milgram's obedience studies, remoteness from the victim facilitates cruelty. A Knife can kill someone, but a knife attack requires a great deal more personal contact than pulling a trigger from a distance.
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I am a strong supporter of the constitution, which of course includes supporting the 2nd amendment. The more I research the effect that guns have on our society, the more I'm starting to see this amendment as old and outdated. Back when our constitution was drafted, those people weren't exposed to all the violence we receive on a daily basis from the media today. People back then were generally more mature and respected their firearms. They also didn't have access to weapons that could mow down 40 people in one clip. The fact that a gangster who flunked out of high school can just as easily acquire a weapon from Walmart as I can because of the 2nd amendment is just scary. As shown in the statistics above, I really don't think most of our violence hungry society holds the maturity/responsibility needed to own a firearm anymore.
- Another study found that the risk of suicide in homes with guns was 5 times as high as in homes without them (Tuabes, 1992).
- Compared with others of the same gender, age, and race, people with guns at home were 41 percent as likely to be homicide victims and 3.4 times as likely to die of suicide (Wiebe, 2003).
Countries that ban handguns have lower murder rates. Compared with the United States, Britain has one-fourth as many people and one-sixteenth as many murders. The United States has 10,000 handgun homicides a year; Australia has about a dozen, Britain two dozen, and Canada 100. When Washington, D.C., adopted a law restricting handgun possession, the numbers of gun-related murders and suicides each abruptly dropped about 25 percent. No changes occurred in other methods of murder and suicide, nor did adjacent areas outside the reach of this law experience any other such declines (Loftin & others, 1991).
According to Milgram's obedience studies, remoteness from the victim facilitates cruelty. A Knife can kill someone, but a knife attack requires a great deal more personal contact than pulling a trigger from a distance.
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I am a strong supporter of the constitution, which of course includes supporting the 2nd amendment. The more I research the effect that guns have on our society, the more I'm starting to see this amendment as old and outdated. Back when our constitution was drafted, those people weren't exposed to all the violence we receive on a daily basis from the media today. People back then were generally more mature and respected their firearms. They also didn't have access to weapons that could mow down 40 people in one clip. The fact that a gangster who flunked out of high school can just as easily acquire a weapon from Walmart as I can because of the 2nd amendment is just scary. As shown in the statistics above, I really don't think most of our violence hungry society holds the maturity/responsibility needed to own a firearm anymore.