Doctors : (A) The number of physicians in the U.S.. is 700,000.
(B) Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year are 120,000.
(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.
Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services.
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Guns: (A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000. (Yes, that's
80 million)
(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is
1,500.
(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .000188.
Statistics courtesy of FBI
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So, statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.
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Remember, 'Guns don't kill people, doctors do.'
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FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.
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Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors before this gets completely out of hand!!!!!
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Out of concern for the public at large, I withheld the statistics on lawyers for fear the shock would cause people to panic and seek medical attention!
The quoted statistics don't take into account the more significant issue of "number of overall incidents." Let us assume that the average doctor sees 30 patients per day. Now let us assume that gun owners accidentally fire their weapons only once every 10 years.
If we multiply the number of doctors (700,000) by patients per day (30) and again multiply the result by number of days the average doctor actually works in a given year (say 200) we have 4,200,000,000 doctor-patient interactions per year. Divide this into 120,000 and we find that you have a 0.000028 chance of dying from a doctor visit.
Now take the number of accidental gunshots -- 8,000,000 owners once every 10 years. 1,500 of these accidental discharges result in deaths. Divide 1,500 by (80,000,000/10) and we find that the likelihood of death from accidental discharge of a firearm is 0.0001875. Thus the chance of dying from any given accidental discharge of a firearm is nearly 7 times that of visiting a doctor.
This does not take into account the number of people who die of heart attacks after receiving the physicians' bills. It also does not take into consideration the probability that all of the statistics in the cited report were made up on the spot by the author of the report, just like the ones I just made up. :^)
RHC: AARRRHH....use my $3500 custom made Open Springfield Armoury or my $2500 Kimber Custom Shop .45's as a HAMMER.........Holy.#$$#^&^$% %......Gawd....you jest.....!!!!!!! Oh, the insult.....:))
At this point, as I say, we're all waiting to see what will happen and preparing for the worst.
Ever since Gore's loss was attributed much to his open stance against gun ownership, nowdays most of the opposition gives positive response to any inquires, while their past voting record reveals what they will do when it gets down to their vote.
We'll just have to wait and see, but in my opinion, it doesn't look good at this point.
I seriously doubt the US will ever prohibit law-abiding citizens from owning guns. Gun registration is a possibility, but that's just a waste of money and effort. Criminals don't register guns. They steal them.
I wouldn't know an "Open Springfield Armoury" from a paint ball gun if it fell on my foot, Bob, but it does sound interesting. If not a hammer, how would it do at prying open shipping cases?
RHC: Registrations is one of those bugaboos the gun control advocates use to justify their actions. They portray registration of guns as a simple matter, much like registering automobiles, so why should we be afraid of it ? Well registering cars is done for several purposes...the main one being revenue, the secondary one being control and tracking. However, no one is refused registration of a vehicle although they may not have a license to drive it, or have a suspended one. Firearms registration is put forward as a means of tracking stolen guns, which it can do, but experience in our country shows it does only in a very limited way, but at a cost FAR greater than it's value. The vast majority of guns used in "guns and gangs" crimes are not stolen from private parties, but smuggled in on the black market. I put up with the useless controls of registration and "transport permits" daily. They have no bearing on controlling crime, but make my life in real time much more difficult. I doubt that controlling me, or tens of thousands like me, has any bearing on crime control !!
Make no mistake, gun registration has as it primary purpose to limit who can own that firearm, and who can move around with it. Our long gun registry has shown the futility of such a venture, costing billions of dollars, with little to nothing to show for it. New Zealand tried it and gave it up after 15 years for lack of benefit versus cost. England did it, and simply used it as a means of collecting legal firearms when they chose to ban handguns, which is it's REAL purpose when all is said and done !
A "war" is not won by one decisive action, but a series of small victories. In this case, gun control is far more likely to be successful through a series of back door approaches to legislative change - a local ordinance here, a small control law there! A State control versus a Federal control ! This complexity of controls State to State not only serves to fustrate legal ownership, but it also makes it much more likely a traveller can run afoul of the laws of any jurisdiction he is passing through. For example, simply travelling to Florida with my competition guns, I must avoid New York city, Washington; I can't travel through Maryland, nor Chicago. Last time I faced an hour stoppage at the New York / Ontario border simply because the Homeland Security officer had no idea what the US laws are. I finally made it through after the ATF gave her shit and told her to stop harrassing me - I had all the necessary permits (who in their right mind would try to cross without them......)
Here in Canada, no one can own any kind of firearm without what is called a PAL (Possession and Acquisition Certificate). This is good for five years, and obtained only after a police background check, sign on by your spouse that you are not a danger to her or anyone, and written certification by someone else that they have known you for at least two years and they can vouch for your character. This is followed by a mandatory two day course given by the government to show you know the laws, know how to handle the firearm properly, and have a general knowledge of firearms. ONLY THEN, are you issued this PAL, which is necessary for any firearms related activity - to purchase guns or ammo, or to obtain other permits needed to move around with restricted firearms (handguns, AR15, "military lookalikes" etc), or non restricted (rifles and shotguns). This might seem onerous to US citizens, but we have learned to live with it, and it does have the benefit of ensuring gun ownership is taken seriously. But make no mistake, controls don't end there !! We still have the bullshit of registration, further controls over movement on restricted firearms, plus the normal myriad of hunting license controls, and other sensible controls over safe transport and storage. Bottom line, my sporting activities here in Canada are totally controlled by the whim of the Chief Firearms Officer of Ontario - a police authority heavily influenced by the political party of the day that happens to be in power. Although their influence is largely unobtrusive to me and other shooters, we all know he can pull the plug at any time, or close down any range at any time !! (as they have done)
Registration still remains the almost universally hated control. In itself, it has lead to the greatest point of harrassment by unfriendly authorities, and is a HUGE tax drain for limited if any benefits. And since authorities almost universally can't be trusted to act in good faith in the future, it is the point of greatest danger to continued reasonable access to gun ownership by the general population.
I suggest you guys in the US fight it with everything at your disposal. It IS the point of no return !!
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