Quote:
Originally posted by 4thTimeLucky
NB: I also followed up the source of the 22 figure to here: Journal of Trauma Seacrh for "Kellermann" and click on Abstract for "Injuries and Deaths Due to Firearms in the Home". Whilst the sample size seems very small (636 shootings) and the figures given in the Abstract don't quite add up, it still seems a solid enough original source for the Brady factsheet to use.
|
I guess I'll just plunk down $12.95, pick a catchy URL, type up some bullshit, and people can quote me as a source. Not only are statistics skewed by the interpreter, but they are subject to the parameters used in collecting them. a quick jump to this website reveals this:
Quote:
Objectives: Determine the relative frequency with which guns in the home are used to injure or kill in self-defense, compared with the number of times these weapons are involved in an unintentional injury, suicide attempt, or criminal assault or homicide.
Methods: We reviewed the police, medical examiner, emergency medical service, emergency department, and hospital records of all fatal and nonfatal shootings in three U.S. cities: Memphis, Tennessee; Seattle, Washington; and Galveston, Texas.
Results: During the study interval (12 months in Memphis, 18 months in Seattle, and Galveston) 626 shootings occurred in or around a residence. This total included 54 unintentional shootings, 118 attempted or completed suicides, and 438 assaults/homicides. Thirteen shootings were legally justifiable or an act of self-defense, including three that involved law enforcement officers acting in the line of duty. For every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense or legally justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven criminal assaults or homicides, and 11 attempted or completed suicides.
Conclusions: Guns kept in homes are more likely to be involved in a fatal or nonfatal accidental shooting, criminal assault, or suicide attempt than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense.
|
Notice that in the objectives the author states he intends to investigate "guns in the home". (quoted directly from his text). Notice next in his results he states "shootings occurred in or around a residence". Well, which is it? What exactly is included in his statistical count. Were the guns
kept in the house? Or were they brought there from the outside? Maybe closer examination reveals the answer but it was not available to me at that website. There are other problems with this research summary, can
you find them?
Statistics should always be looked at skeptically, they are not by themselves valid proof, whether in Michael Moore's hands or Rush Limbaugh's (or anyone elses for that matter). Their presentation adds selling points to the pitch, but it doesn't make the product better.