Within a day, or so you'll be able to hear the howls from National Rifle Association types even without a television, radio, or internet connection. That's how loud and shrill they'll be.
This morning NBC reported the release of a study conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. The team of researchers used the FBI's Uniformed Crime Reporting Data Base to take a look at how and where police officers were killed in the line of duty between the years, 1996 and 2010.
What they found was, during the study's time, frame 782 cops were murdered. Of that number, 716 were killed by guns, 515 by handguns.
Sure, we all know it is a dangerous job. After all there are a lot of mean streets out there in places like Chicago, Detroit, and LA. However, what will drive the NRA and their toadies into stuttering rages is one cold truth which emerged from the blizzard of numbers. That is, if you are a cop working in a state which is high in per capita gun ownership, you are three times more likely to be shot to death than in one with low ownership.
According to the report, the states with the highest per capita gun ownership and cop killings were, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Montana. The states with the lowest per capita rates in both categories were, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.
In fact the stats show a police officer is far more likely to be shot and killed in what is called a public setting than in confrontations with violent criminals committing felonies. NBC quoted spokesperson David Swedler as saying, "In states where firearms are more prevalent officers responding to reports of domestic violence are more often entering potentially lethal situations compared to officers responding to such calls in states with lower firearm prevalence."
In other words, because he has a gun at home,"Bama," Bob is more likely to shoot a cop after beating the shit out of his wife because she over cooked the meatloaf than a street dude is while pulling a liquor store heist.
The study did not have any sort of legislative agenda and didn't advocate for restrictive gun legislation, it was simply reporting the data from a public health perspective.
The organization, Everytown isn't encumbered by such restraint, even if they are a little weak kneed when it comes to the anti-gun movement.
Everytown's director of research, Ted Alcorn was quoted as saying, "Nothing does more to reduce these deaths than a strong background check system. FBI data shows that in states that require strong background checks for all hand gun sales, blocking criminals from buying guns in unlicensed sales online, or at gun shows, there are 48% fewer law enforcement officers killed with hand guns."
Yes, well the gorilla in the room, the NRA, is on record opposing background checks for sales conducted in private and at gun shows. And they own legislators from Washington D.C. to Juneau, Alaska, so no one, even those tepid souls at Everytown, should get their hopes up.
Every valid study done over the last few decades shows if there are more guns available, there will be more gun deaths. The NRA and its cohorts deny every last one of them while braying incessantly that if there are more guns we will all be safer.
Their logic is deadly nonsense and deep down they must know it. But for reasons best left to sex therapists and psychiatrists the gun fetishists keep saying it over and over again as they threaten, cajole, and buy every lawmaker within reach.
Land of the free and home of the brave my ass. The NRA might be selling that song, but we all know, because of the guns, we're neither.
8-14-15
No comments:
Post a Comment