On Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:12:58 -0800, Mike Vandeman
<mjvande@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>On Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:19:06 -0800 (PST), Siskuwihane
><Siskuwihane1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>http://www.independent.com/news/2007/may/24/defensive-logic/
>>
>>Defensive Logic
>>By Henry Delgado
>>
>>Thursday, May 24, 2007
>>
>>While I have no doubt that Mike Vandeman, PhD, is a well-educated and
>>reasonable man, I submit that the information he has gleaned from his
>>associates regarding firearms is woefully inadequate [ "Close
>>Reading," May 10]. Dr. Vandeman starts out by labeling it
>>“preposterous” to say that guns are used defensively 2.5 million times
>>a year. I respectfully refer Dr. Vandeman to a 1993 national survey
>>re****t by Gary Kleck, Florida State University criminology professor.
>>Using a survey sample of 4,977 respondents (the usual survey sample is
>>in the 600 to 1,600 range), Professor Kleck determined that guns are
>>used an average of 2.5 million times a year to prevent or defend
>>against a crime. In 1994, Bill Clinton’s Department of Justice
>>sponsored a survey titled "Guns in America: National Survey on Private
>>Owner****p and Use of Firearms." They used a smaller sample size than
>>Kleck, and estimated 1.5 million defensive uses of firearms annually.
>>
>>It is unfortunate Dr. Vandeman doesn’t know any gun owners. Contrary
>>to his assertion that a “tiny minority of the population own guns,”
>>here are the facts for his perusal: There are approximately
>>300,000,000 people in the U.S. There are approximately 65,000,000 gun
>>owners in the U.S. That’s about 22 percent of the population.
>
>That only proves that 22% of the population are idiots.
>
> There
>>are 200 million firearms (65 million-70 million handguns). Firearms
>>are used for protection by 11 percent of firearms owners (13 percent
>>of handgun owners). Criminal yearly misuse of firearms is less than
>>0.2 percent (and less than 0.4 percent for handguns).
>>
>>I’m confident that Dr. Vandeman will be enlightened by these figures.
>>I have personally been a participant in defusing a possible crime
>>because we were armed—but that’s another story.—Henry Delgado
Mike, I agree with so much you advocate including restrictions on ATV
and biking where damage is a problem. Same for "human free" wildlife
areas. But the comments on guns
are way off. How about joining in the work to stabilize population via
strict immigration controls?
ted
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