I don't own any guns of any type. I've fired quite a few of them, of all kinds. I don't feel the need to own one for personal protection or as a hobby. I know plenty of people who do. Without fault, these guns spend more time locked-away in a safe than being fired for any reason. Yes, even the "assault rifles" (do rifles assault without a person holding them?).
Every time something happens liberal-leaning media rushes to blame guns. It's never people, is it?
A gun doesn't kill any more than a car. It's the people using them that sometimes, intentionally or not, harm others.
None of these articles are backed by any data. Yet they are quick to blame "assault rifles" and proclaim all manner of remedies.
I wanted data. A quick Google search for "homicides by weapon type" produced a bunch of links. The top link comes right out of the US Department of Justice:
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicide/weapons.cfm
The very first chart shows very clearly that the vast majority --by a factor of 3 to 5 or more-- of homicides are committed with handguns. Not "assault rifles".
I'm assuming that "assault rifles" falls under the "other gun" category in the chart.
What's even more interesting is that homicides using a Knives exceeded "other gun" by a good margin from 1976 to about 1994 and then run about even. That's interesting data. It seems that knives are just as dangerous today as "other gun".
Far more detailed data is available here:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr
I really didn't have the time to dive into it, but I suspect I would learn exactly the same thing: "assault rifles" represent less than about 3% of total homicides. Put another way, more people --like TEN TIMES MORE-- are killed with knives every year than with "assault rifles". This is data from the DOJ and FBI so one can hardly put any kind of spin on it.
All of this anti-gun talk after some crazy nutcase goes and does something stupid is absolute nonsense. The claims are not backed by data and those making the claims, for some reason, never choose to present any data (or confuse people by lumping "guns" with "other guns").
I am more of a libertarian who leans left on some issues and right on others. I'd like to believe that I think things through rather than follow like sheep.
I happen to find the way the left constantly bitches about and vilifies guns to be disgusting pandering. They never discuss what the actual data shows: That young blacks are killing each other en-masse for drugs and other bullshit. And that our first black president has done virtually nothing to materially change the reality of millions of black kids who I am sure would be wonderful assets to our society given the right ecosystem.
It's far easier to sling distorted statistics, vilify the NRA and rally idiot voters to try to take away gun rights. In the meantime the real victims of violent crimes, which --by far-- statistics show are hispanic and black youngsters, don't see anything of real value change in their environment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ushomicidesbyweapon.svg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_Stat...
And, of course, let's not forget that the 9/11 attacks where carried out using knives. They killed thousands.
The penalties for using guns criminally should be brutally severe. Automatic life in prison or some such thing. Criminals need to know that choosing a gun is the worst possible idea. I'm all for that. As far as your average Joe, leave him alone.