Submitted for your approval...WISQARS data for 1996 shows 2,457 firearm homicides for those age 15 - 19.*
To this, Gun Control Advocates would be decrying the excessive violence and shaking their fists at guns and beating their breasts in sorrow.
"2,457 young people are dead because of guns!" they'd wail. "Shame upon our lawless society! Cursed be guns and those who dally with them!"
WISQARS data also shows the population of those age 15 - 19 in 1996: 18,920,160
2,457 is 0.013% of 18,920,160.
In 1996, the total U.S. population was 265,189,794.
2,457 is 0.00093% of 265,789,794.
No no no.
That simply won't do.
2,457 is a much better number to use than 0.013% or 0.00093%
It's a bigger number, you see.
Better to say
In 1996, 2,457 young people between the ages of 15 and 19 died due to firearm violencerather than
In 1996, 0.00093% of the total U.S. population died due to firearm violence.See?
Much better.
*if the link isn't working, the data also available as an Excel spreadsheet here
3 comments:
Yes, this is the classic issue of presenting the exact same numbers by different methods to emphasize them or marginalize them.
The medical literature is replete with different methods of showing the same set of numbers different ways and we do naturally seem to gravitate towards the big ones.
For instance, RRR (Relative Risk Reduction) versus ARR (Absolute Risk Reduction) which provides 2 numbers that can be disparate. A common tactic used by authors.
It is good that the data supports firearms ownership, but it is not sufficient, nor a factor in it.
My absolute right to defend myself with a firearm is God-given and is not open for negotiation. It is an enumerated (i.e. recognized) right in our Bill of Rights and thus no one can negate it.
To all the gun-haters, you're free to not own firearms, but you have no authority to dictate to me on this.
Well put, Braden.
Especially this:
My absolute right to defend myself with a firearm is God-given and is not open for negotiation. It is an enumerated (i.e. recognized) right in our Bill of Rights and thus no one can negate it.
To all the gun-haters, you're free to not own firearms, but you have no authority to dictate to me on this.
But you bring up another point that I've pondered a lot about and I think needs to be talked about. I'll be working up an upcoming post about it.
As always, thanks for dropping by and commenting. Glad to have you here.
Thank you for your hard work on this blog. I enjoy it a lot. Molon Labe!
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