America Needs More Guns

As an Australian who has also spent time in Canada, I will never understand the American need for guns. Just like I'll never understand the court decision that says the US 4th Amendment is not just for organised militia

As I mentioned to in that previous post, studies have shown that the possession of gun in your home increases likeihood of violent death. For instance, two different studies conclude:

•  "Legal purchase of a handgun appears to be associated with a long-lasting increased risk of violent death". Source.
• "Regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or number of firearms in the home, having a gun in the home was associated with an increased risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in the home". Source

Now from the NY Times comes an opinion piece with these gems (emphasis added):

An important study published in 2009 by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine estimated that people in possession of a gun at the time of an assault were 4.5 times more likely to be shot during the assault than someone in a comparable situation without a gun.

“On average,” the researchers said, “guns did not seem to protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. Although successful defensive gun uses can and do occur, the findings of this study do not support the perception that such successes are likely.”

Approximately 100,000 shootings occur in the United States every year. The number of people killed by guns should be enough to make our knees go weak. Monday was a national holiday celebrating the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. While the gun crazies are telling us that ever more Americans need to be walking around armed, we should keep in mind that more than a million people have died from gun violence — in murders, accidents and suicides — since Dr. King was shot to death in 1968.

Its a horrible thing to say, but perhaps there should be more guns in America. Give one to every person. At least that way, there would be a lot less stupid Americans.