Slims

?

If we are discussing whether something is a right or not and/or whether the Obama administration will successfully pass another AWB the stats' Roachboy is requesting are not particularly relevant.

I don't quote statistics often as they are easily misinterpreted and as Roachboy said most data are collected in imperfect ways by organizations with agendas. Those who don't have an Agenda (like FBI studies) do a fairly good job of showing things as they are...but make no (good) attempt to show causality. This is absolutely true for both sides of the argument, though anti-gun groups tend to rely more on statistics (IMHO) because they are trying to justify banning guns, while most Pro-Gun groups simply point at the 2'nd Amendment.

Ultimately my argument is not about numbers, but rather these two things: The right to defend myself is not something any government should be able to strip from me. And self defense is an individual responsibility in that the police can only deter crime and punish criminals after the fact.


I have read a lot of junk stats on both sides during my life. I have a Math degree and I notice when the numbers are messed up. I have also seen some legitimate studies which I will have to dig up in a day or two when I have some more time.

You are perfectly correct that people should take reasonable care to validate information before continuing to spread it, though it is unreasonable to expect people to sift through the data sets for each study...that would take WAY too much time. It is much easier to read peer-reviewed studies from reliable sources.


Here are a few quick ones:

Federal Bureau of Investigation - Uniform Crime Reports (The FBI's crime stats)

There is also this: http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-fa...5-0-screen.pdf
I have not attempted to verify everything (or even most of it), but since they cite every source it is easy enough for any particular issue which catches your fancy.

Bureau of Justice Statistics Firearms and Crime Statistics (another good .Gov Site)

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