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Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 10:10pm
Up in arms
A new study by University of Pennsylvania researchers shows that people in possession of a firearm are almost 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than people who are not in possession of a firearm. The study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and appears in the November 2009 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The published conclusions state “on average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. Although successful defensive gun uses occur each year, the probability of success may be low for civilian gun users in urban areas.”
Possessors of guns may be in more, not less, danger for a number of reasons, researchers wrote. Offenders often use surprise to overpower their victims, making it difficult to use a gun for self-defense; if a victim is able to draw a gun, it signals to the offender that he must use maximum force to overpower the victim.
In addition, the increased possibility of guns being carried in the community may lead to an escalation in the lethality of weapons brought to an argument, researchers argued.
The report prompted this response from Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: “The study’s findings show once again the risks of gun ownership and how having more guns correlates with more gun violence. This research severely undermines the argument by gun pushers that carrying a gun automatically makes a person safer.
“In urban areas, gun possessors, far from being protected by their guns, are at an increased risk of harm. Restrictions on carrying guns clearly make sense as a smart public safety strategy.”
The study’s lead author is Charles C. Branas, of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Firearm and Injury Center at Penn, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. According to the study, (from October 2003 through April 2006) researchers enrolled 677 case participants who had been shot in an assault and 684 control participants.
As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.
Doug Pennington, 20005
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Filed under: City Voices
126 Comments on this post:
Rather than commit to a one size fits all policy, it would be better to let each individual take notice of and react to all of the local facts, not just the ones that are convenient to the woosies afraid of legal and constitutional gun ownership. Is anybody tracking the time elapsed between getting shot and the cops showing up to do the paperwork? If someone kills you and you don’t have a gun, does the university write a condolence letter to the family saying that at least you had a better chance of not getting killed since you did not go armed?
Some of the people carrying guns may be also carrying large sums of money or assuming large risks during their daily endeavors. I don't trust the people who make statements like this because I think they have an agenda. First of all it comes from a university. Universities sell their souls and their alleged prestige every day. Al Gore's global warming hockey stick was bought in a similar way. Second it is funded by two groups already known to have a fixed attitude that is not going to be altered by the facts. Third, if the university came up with anything different than the preexisting attitude that would be the last wad of money blown at that university. This is expert shopping masquerading as news. No one is making anyone carry a gun. So there is no public policy that is making it any more dangerous for those who opt out.
Maybe if the victim has no gun then a knife or a ball bat may be the quieter means of dispatch. The study cannot measure deterrence. If the victim has a gun, it certainly makes premeditation a good idea and raises the bar for accomplishment. Making life tougher on the bad guys can not be all bad.
Good morning
dnewton logic is flawed as useal
If someone kills you and you have a gun, does the university write a condolence letter to the family saying that you tryed to play hero and you think that you would faster than the man holding the gun on you. What good does having a gun if you are not smart enough to use it.
People carring large sums of money are aware that they maybe robed and should be permitted to carrie a gun. People carring pocket change should realize that pocket change is just that. Not worth dieing or killing for.
Just like studies that "study" cigarette smoking, there are probably at least two or three 'studies" out there that state gun ownership and concealed carry permits provide MORE safety. In any case, 90% of gun carriers in Tenn. could care less about a University of Pennsylvania study. Most are still refuting the "study" that says the Earth is round and actually revolves around the Sun.
I haven't heard of any CCP holders getting shot here have you?
Did hear of a few bad guys that are no longer with us thanks to them though.
This study was published in the American Journal of Public Health, funded in part by the American Journal of Public Health. It seems reasonable that they concluded that guns are not healthy. During a crime, the healthiest response is total cooperation. Heck, employees are even being fired for the slightest resistence to businesses being robbed.
Whut?? Yew mean the earth ain't flat?
This is a gov. sponsored study (NIH) to lay foundation for more gun control laws. There will be more of them coming one after another. With the money the federal gov provides to universities for studies they are interested in the results will be that of original intent.
All I can say is, good luck getting the guns out of citizens' hands.
But if they ever DO create a federal gun control law banning guns, it will be a darn shame there will be so many otherwise law-abiding citizens who will be breaking the law for their own protection...and make no mistake, there will be a lot more that will do so than will be expected.
Dragon said - "During a crime, the healthiest response is total cooperation."
So, let's all jump on the "how to be a victim" bandwagon! Yea, that's the ticket. So, would you tell your wife to let some a-hole just go ahead and rape her? Don't resist Honey, you'll be safer that way...
Sorry but to me, the ONLY time it's safer to cooperate is if you don't have some kind of weapon to use.
If you do have a weapon and fight back, IMO most of the time the person doing the robbing, raping or whatever will leave rather than fight it out because they'd figure there's easier pickings elsewhere.
Apples and oranges.
Gun control is not the same as banning guns.
Guns should be licensed and controlled just as operating a car should be done only by trained and licensed individuals who can be easily identified.
Gentlemen: I believe Dragon spoke of robberies, not rape. The local "Wooded Rapist" invaded up to 12 woman's homes. If they could of reached for a gun in the nightstand, by all means, shoot the bastard.
But, criminals have the element of suprise on their side, as the study said.
Mr. DeMoss, who was struck in the head from behind in a Dillard's parking lot never saw the baseball bat coming. The punk then padded him down for his wallet. Had DeMoss had a loaded gun in a shoulder holster, the punk would of had a gun to commit further crimes, not a Louisville Slugger.
What's with the paranoia rampant in Tenn.? Maybe it's just me, but I've NEVER seen the commission of a crime, thus far, anyway.
Good morning, Nashville!
Another LTE of the 4-G varietty...God, Guns, Gays and Guvmint. LTE's on other subjects are not welcome at the NCP, or so it seems.
I checked out the Brady Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence, sure enough, today's LTE author is listed on the website's masthead as a Legal .Assistant. Folks, Doug Pennington is a professional zealot.
The NCP has carried propaganda pieces like this from several lobbying firms. A little more research on the part of the NCP would help to identify self-serving sources and provide the reader with a heads up.
My LTE's never see the light of day at the NCP; maybe, if I was on the payroll of a lobbying firm, I could get published here.
Dargent,
Actually, you make a good point. The best defense against becoming a victim of a crime is situational awareness...being aware of your surroundings. The more you are aware of your surroundings, the less likely you are to become a target for a crime.
Chief: We all know those areas of Nashville to stay away from, especially after dark. Around 11:00 pm is when the criminals go to work...alleys, corridors, parking structures, the entire province called East Nashville.
Want to go to a Titan's night game? Great. When it ends, GTFO. Don't go for a lap dance at Cheetah's or a brewski at The Gentleman's Club. Go home.
I suspect, as is almost always the case, that the study muddies self-defense with gang-bangers shooting it out over the color of their hoodies.
Regardless of this guy's mission to control us; the fact that a potential assailant may get his brains splattered all over the side-walk does act as a deterrent to the crime in the first place.
BenDover's comment gets an A+. "the fact that a potential assailant may get his brains splattered all over the side-walk does act as a deterrent to the crime".
dargent7 - Some of us live in East Nashville and have lived there since before it got overridden with crime. What do you suggest for us? Move? Stay home huddled in a corner?
Hey, Ben, welcome back.
You wrote, " the fact that a potential assailant may get his brains splattered all over the side-walk does act as a deterrent to the crime in the first place."
That's a tough one to prove, Ben. Certainly, in Baghdad today, the perps are not deterred by the fear of death, just about everyone is carrying heat on those mean streets and the carnage gets worse every day.
Once the veneer of civilization gets stripped away, as Operation Iraqi Freedom succeeded in doing, things deteriorate quite quickly.
A couple of well-placed nukes and the savagery and butchery would come home, to America. Keep your powder dry.
It didn't make the NCP, but did anyone else catch the story about the ADL slamming two SC Republicans for an anti-Semitic remark?
The sky is falling freaks are here today.
I may start wareing a gun, not because to protect myself from of robbers. It will be to protect myself from the John Wayne want-to-be heros. Does any sane person feel safe knowing that ADSSOB like idgaf is carring a gun? Just waiting for an oppertunity to get his name on TV.
Dragon whines about empolyees being fired because they put up any resistence. Where there other people involved, like customers with children? Give more details of these empolyees being fired Dragon and not some wild statement.
some young guy cries about jumping on a victim bandwagon and letting someone rape your wife. The sky is falling or maybe it is...I will shoot any guy that looks at my woman funny.
Very secure attitude.
Then we have BenDover, who thinks that the bad guys will stand still like paper target at the target range and let old Ben shoot them.
What anti-Semitic remark was this and who are SC Republicans?
I was perusing the online news sources, when I came upon an interesting headline: ADL slams two US Republicans for calling Jews penny-pinchers.
Here’s the URL for the page:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1122621.html
Here is a snippet from the Haaretz article:
“In an opinion piece published Oct. 18 in The Times and Democrat newspaper, Bamberg County GOP Chairman Edwin Merwin and Orangeburg County Chairman James Ulmer defended the fiscal policies of U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, by saying he was "like Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves." (End of snippet)
YANKEE GO HOME
Loner, beyond fundamental survival above Maslow’s first steps; people will comply with the laws and mores of society to the degree that they believe society is fair. Economic recovery is the fundamental key in Baghdad... as it is on the streets of Philadelphia. On top of that though a person must be able to cut through the propaganda of dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction can be a motivator; but when coupled with the meme of unfairness it becomes easy for the dissatisfied to blame their plight on those who have done no harm and, in fact, do the dissatisfied much good.
So… should a society create opportunity and educate the dissatisfied that opportunities exist for them? Or should society harp on unfairness and use the dissatisfied as a weapon against political enemies? The first option is what America used to be… the latter is America as it tends toward what Baghdad suffers today.
By: Schuss on 10/26/09 at 10:27
YANKEE GO HOME
Well, that about sums up the ignorant southern mentality.
What's wrong with that quote?
Find any Hoptober, Blanket?
Verbal Cartoon
Gun toting clown killed at local Mickey D's.
A water gun wheeling clown walks in and demanding a Kids Meal. A quick thinking employee give the clown the box, but BenDover shoot the clown from behind and as brinds are splatter all over the customers and their children BenDover says, "No clowns is getting a Kids Meal without paying for it."
Nazix2: You used a triple redundancy...1) ignorant 2) Southern 3) mentality.
Much better to be ignorant than misinformed.
By: dargent7 on 10/26/09 at 10:38
Nazix2: You used a triple redundancy...1) ignorant 2) Southern 3) mentality.
*****************************************************************
You would think that she is smarter than that. lol
BTW it is brains not brinds.
Loner: Did you catch the 'slur" by the ESPN sports commentator Greise? Said Juan Pablo (somebody) didn't make the NASCAR cut because "he was probably out getting a taco". Well, the Latino's demanded an apology. Everyone knows tacos and Latinos is an unfair link.
lol, dargent. you caught me!
house, i didn't find any Hoptober but i did get some Imperial Stout. good stuff!
By: BenDover on 10/26/09 at 10:42
Much better to be ignorant than misinformed
i hear that ignorance is bliss....
How would you know Ben? Being as misinfromed as you.
You know, if you believe there are so many ignorant Southern mental people here, you're always welcome to move up North.
Then again, considering how many people move from the North to the southern states, first chance they get, one would think it's not so bad down here.
People who know the wrong things seem to be much more dangerous than people who know nothing.
This fulfills my definition of a liberal: A liberal is someone who has yet to learn that everyone else is not an idiot.
On my map everything North of the Mason Dixon line is labeled 'here there be monsters'.
still fighting the civil war, are we? lol
People thinking they no everything are the more dangerous. This is the definition of a right-wing fool. ;-)
By: BenDover on 10/26/09 at 10:55
On my map everything North of the Mason Dixon line is labeled 'here there be monsters'.
_________________________________________________________________
Yes Ben I know you fear intelligent thinking people. But it is not that scary. Try it somethime.
Again, if the people here are not to your liking you can always move back up north.
We won't stop you, you know.
Chief: Statistically, I bet as many southerners move northward. Most Northerners move West...to California. People like me who end up here is because I had the map upside down. And I haven't seen squat of the "Southern hospitality". People in Chicago, Indy, Minneapolis, Columbus are 10x friendlier that the pickel pusses I've seen down here.
many "yankees" come down to fill the jobs for which there are not enough competent and educated southern folks. that's why the south has the highest percentage of people who go into the military.
If people moved back north as some would like, then the stupid meter would be the only thing rising in the south. lol
Dargent,
Sorry but according to this, more are moving south and west at least as late as 2007.
http://pewsocialtrends.org/maps/migration/
Well I have had taken my morning nap. I had already gone 200 mile this morning before most of you had gotten up. If I get a chance I will check in later. So later. :->
That's heady stuff, Ben.
I'm a liberal. and I know that everyone else is not an idiot. Everyone else is an A-hole.
Just kidding!
It's the media demagogues stirring the pot, Ben. They get misinformed people hoppin' mad.
Here's a relevant quote from WB Yeats, "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
Ain't that the truth? If only Hitler, Marx, Herzl, Saul of Tarsus, Muhammad of Mecca and a few others had been too lazy to write their manifestos, then the world might have been spared much of the horror that their ideas engendered.
As I've said before, ambition is highly over-rated and slothfulness, the father of invention, is much maligned.
Blanket,
You know, it MIGHT be because a lot of people in the North retire and figure out it's a LOT cheaper to live here. That's the major reason for the increase of population here, IMO.
BTW, have you ever thought about the fact that if this trend remains steady, eventually the southern states will have more Representative than the northern states do? Sort of makes one wonder what kinds of changes in the dynamics of the House would happen because of it.
Nemo,
Your arrogance is showing again.