Stratman911 wrote:
Ok ... Then the next time one of these mass shootings happen, let's grab you and take you through all the Carnage, and dead bodies and then we'll take you to the homes of the families of all the victims and you can explain to them why your gun rights are more important than their loved ones lying in a pool of blood... Because you don't really have to sell it to me, but I dare you to say the same thing to them
Can the hyperbole, OK? I know what it like to pull the dead bodies of men, women and children out of the rubble and ashes of burned homes and buildings, out of the twisted and smashed remains of a vehicle, I know what it is like trying to comfort their surviving family and friends. And, I know what it is like to save the lives of injured victims of these tragic events.
Since 1982, 1069 people have been k**led in random mass shootings. This does not include targeted k*****gs such as occurred in Dayton, OH or those that occur in a dysfunctional family or when a disgruntled employee takes out his boss and fellow employees, or a r****t sniper ambushes police officers--I mean random mass shootings such as Columbine, VA Tech, Aurora theater, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Las Vegas.
1069 people k**led over a period of 37 years, though tragic in the circumstance, is an average of 29 victims per year.
Now, let's consider the numerous studies and research into defensive gun use by legally armed citizens. These studies were conducted by university criminologists, police and federal law enforcement associations, the National Institute of Justice, the CDC and the DOJ.
A study in 1997 conducted by Dr. Gary Kleck, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Florida State University in Tallahassee (with Marc Gertz). Dr. Kleck is a member of the ACLU, Amnesty International USA, and Common Cause. He is not and has never been a member of or contributor to any advocacy group on either side of the gun control debate, and he is not a member of the NRA,
This study revealed that a legally armed citizen (or citizens) stopped a crime or prevented a violent attack by a human or an animal
2.5 million times per year. In only 8% of these incidents was the attacker k**led or wounded. This study was first published in The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Northwestern University School of Law, and it was later published in a book--Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America. This book has become a widely cited source in the gun control debate. In fact, this book earned Dr. Kleck the prestigious American Society of Criminology Michael J. Hindelang award
Dr. Kleck's work was later confirmed by the DOJ (although the DOJ reduced the number of incidents by 1 million).
In “A Tribute to a View I Have Opposed,” Marvin E. Wolfgang writes that, “What troubles me is the article by Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz. The reason I am troubled is that they have provided an almost clear-cut case of methodologically sound research in support of something I have theoretically opposed for years, namely, the use of a gun in defense against a criminal perpetrator…. I have to admit my admiration for the care and caution expressed in this article and this research. Can it be true that about two million instances occur each year in which a gun was used as a defensive measure against crime? It is hard to believe. Yet, it is hard to challenge the data collected. We do not have contrary evidence.”
Research directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that guns are used 16 to 100 times more often to protect life than to take life. That means there are a whole lot of “guns save lives stories” not being reported.
Now that we have a defensible foundation for the right of law abiding Americans to carry a gun along with credible statistics backing it up, let's ask the question: If a legally armed citizen stops a crime or an attack 1 or 2 million times per year, how many lives are saved?