Found this article today, which really confirms the logical result of too many guns in the hands of people who don't know how to use them. (I don't know about people who are trained and qualified, like ex-military, police, and even sportsmen as the article didn't deal with that). It sure doesn't bode well for the average joe owning a gun for defense. And the lies that are out there saying that owning a gun can help you defend yourself, when in fact, it is the exact opposite!
I think this issue is especially pertinent right now, with what seems like half the people in America who have not owned guns previously going out to buy them. Very scary, all those guns in the hands of people without any training, and who knows what kind of mental stability they have. I would think the more paranoid a person is, the more likely they would go out and buy a gun at this time. And paranoia with a gun it its hand is not a pretty thing!
Statistics on the Dangers of Gun Use for Self-Defense.
"Guns kept in the home are more likely to be involved in a fatal or nonfatal unintentional shooting, criminal assault or suicide attempt than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense.1 That is, a gun is more likely to be used to kill or injure an innocent person in the home than a threatening intruder.Though guns may be successfully used in self-defense even when they are not fired, the evidence shows that their presence in the home makes a person more vulnerable, not less. Instead of keeping owners safer from harm, objective studies confirm that firearms in the home place owners and their families at greater risk. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that living in a home where guns are kept increased an individual’s risk of death by homicide by between 40 and 170%.2 Another study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology similarly found that “persons with guns in the home were at greater risk of dying from a homicide in the home than those without guns in the home.” This study determined that the presence of guns in the home increased an individual’s risk of death by homicide by 90%.3"
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence – Gun Law Information Experts
I think this issue is especially pertinent right now, with what seems like half the people in America who have not owned guns previously going out to buy them. Very scary, all those guns in the hands of people without any training, and who knows what kind of mental stability they have. I would think the more paranoid a person is, the more likely they would go out and buy a gun at this time. And paranoia with a gun it its hand is not a pretty thing!
Statistics on the Dangers of Gun Use for Self-Defense.
"Guns kept in the home are more likely to be involved in a fatal or nonfatal unintentional shooting, criminal assault or suicide attempt than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense.1 That is, a gun is more likely to be used to kill or injure an innocent person in the home than a threatening intruder.Though guns may be successfully used in self-defense even when they are not fired, the evidence shows that their presence in the home makes a person more vulnerable, not less. Instead of keeping owners safer from harm, objective studies confirm that firearms in the home place owners and their families at greater risk. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that living in a home where guns are kept increased an individual’s risk of death by homicide by between 40 and 170%.2 Another study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology similarly found that “persons with guns in the home were at greater risk of dying from a homicide in the home than those without guns in the home.” This study determined that the presence of guns in the home increased an individual’s risk of death by homicide by 90%.3"
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence – Gun Law Information Experts