Authored by: PJ on Friday, December 28 2012 @ 02:04 AM EST |
Lots of stats in the other one too, the Amercian Health brief, regarding
increased risk of suicide and homicide in homes that have guns in
them:
Examining the effects on homicide rates of guns in the home
may be more challenging than for suicide, because it can be more difficult to
control for the many factors that influence homicide rates. Nevertheless,
several studies have determined that the presence of a gun in the home increases
the homicide risk for occupants of that home. Using a study design similar to
their examination of suicides in the home, Arthur Kellermann et al. compared
homes in three metropolitan counties in which a homicide had occurred, with
matched control homes where no homi- cide had occurred. After controlling for
other known risk factors for violence, homes with guns were 2.7 times more
likely to have been the site of a homicide than homes without guns. Arthur
Kellermann et al., Gun Ownership as a Risk Factor for Homicide in the Home, 329
N. Eng. J. Med. 1084 (1993). So, instead of protection, your gun in
your home is more likely to result in a homicide. This means you are actually
less safe:Rates of homicide are also greater in states where guns in
the home are more common. This is the finding of one study that also controlled
for other homicide risk factors. Matthew Miller et al., Rates of Household
Firearm Ownership and Homicide Across US Regions and States, 1988-1997, 92 Am.
J. Pub. Health 1988 (2002). Another analysis, using a proxy measure of gun
ownership, demonstrated that changes in state-level homicide rates were
associated with changes in gun ownership. In fact, in that study, “a 10%
increase in the rate of gun ownership is asso- ciated with an approximately 2
percent increase in the homicide rate.” Mark Duggan, More Guns, More Crime, 109
J. Pol. Econ. 1086, 1096 (2001); see also Susan Sorenson & Richard Berk,
Handgun Sales, Beer Sales, and Youth Homicide, California, 1972- 1993, 22 J.
Pub. Health Pol’y 182, 189-90 (2001) (finding a connection between handgun sales
and homicide).
And that isn't even talking about accidents with
guns.[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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