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Debunking Brady? Not like it’s hard!

Written by George Szwagulak

Wednesday, 10 January 2007

As most all 2nd Amendment active people know, when an anti-gun person says something, it is usually an exaggeration, or it contains some hidden methodology that the American public would not normally associate with their wording, or it is just flat out wrong. So when I came across an interview with The Brady Campaign’s Paul Helmke, I read it and asked myself, “Which of those three choices is this?”

Yes, every American deplores unnecessary deaths. This includes deaths caused by firearms. Gun owners are no different in this regard and we all should work to limit such tragedies as much as we possibly can. However, let’s do the hard work of making society and our families safer in an honest way that respects the Constitution. Take for instance question 2 that was asked during Mr. Helmke’s interview:
Question 2: What do you see as the most worrisome trends in gun laws?

Answer. The argument that worries me the most is that somehow we’d all be safer if nearly anyone, anytime and anywhere had a gun. Whether we’re talking homes, states or countries, more guns almost always means more deaths and more injuries. “Pushing” guns may be great financially for gun manufacturers, dealers and related businesses, but it does not make us safer. [b] Accidental shooting deaths, suicides and homicides, as well as non-fatal injuries, all increase when there are more guns.
Wow. That is quite a bold and damaging statement… if it were actually true. According to the FBI’s NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM (NICS) -- January 2006 report, we can discover that an average of more than eight million firearms are were transferred each year from 1999 to 2005. If Mr. Helmke is correct, the United States are enduring an overwhelming epidemic of crime and gun deaths that increases proportionally with the eight million firearms transferred each year. We know that isn’t true. Therefore, let’s examine Mr. Helmke’s claims one by one to see if any of them hold water.

Accidental shooting deaths – According to the NRA, Today's Gun Accident Rates Lowest On Record. “Among children, fatal firearm accidents have decreased 91 percent since 1975, according to studies by the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Safety Council.”

Also weighing in on this subject is John Lott, who has researched the safe storage laws being passed in fifteen states. He said in his paper entitled, “Safe Storage Gun Laws: Accidental Deaths, Suicides, and Crime” that there is no supporting evidence that shows safe storage laws reduce either juvenile accidental gun deaths or suicides. Instead, these storage requirements appear to impair people’s ability to use guns defensively. Because accidental shooters also tend to be the ones most likely to violate the new law, safe storage laws increase violent and property crimes against low risk citizens with no observable offsetting benefit in terms of reduced accidents or suicides.

During the first five years after the passage of the safe storage laws, the group of fifteen states that adopted these laws faced an annual average increase of over 300 more murders, 3,860 more rapes, 24,650 more robberies, and over 25,000 more aggravated assaults. On average, the annual costs borne by victims averaged over $2.6 billion as a result of lost productivity, out-of-pocket expenses, medical bills, and property losses.

Perhaps Mr. Helmke meant hunting accidents. According to Outdoors editor Phil Bloom of Fortwayne.com (the same paper that did the interview with Mr. Helmke) Hunting accidents on decline -- Statistics show sport is safer than boating. “Accidents are on the decline, not only in Indiana but also nationally, according to the International Hunter Education Association, a Colorado-based organization that collects state-by-state data and reports that hunting-related accidents are 30 percent below what they were a decade ago.

Fatalities attributed to hunting accidents have dropped from more than 200 nationally in 1987 to fewer than 100 annually from 1996 through 2002, the most recent year for which IHEA has a complete report.”

Mr. Helmke next mentioned Suicide. According to a Harvard University study, although they find that firearms are one of the most effective means of suicide, the rates have remained stable for the past fifty years despite the fact that eight million transfers of firearms a year occurred. Researchers link firearms, suicide rate -- Suicide rates in the U.S. have remained steady for past 50 years.

Next Mr. Helmke mentions Homicides. Not all homicides are murder. In this data, there is a group called justifiable homicides. Justifiable homicide is when a citizen or a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) uses a firearm to save their life or someone else’s life. These figures are erroneously included.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) at the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) website, gun-involved incidents increased sharply in the late 1980's and early 1990's before falling to a low in 1999. In looking at the figures, we discover that homicides reached a peak in 1993. Comparing that peak to the last available figure for 2004, the U.S. experienced a drop of 38% in firearm related homicides. All of this while the U.S. sale and or transfer of firearms are averaging a whopping 8 million per year.

Looking at the available figures, we also were able to discover that even the number of justifiable homicides dropped using the same base years of 1993 and 2004. There were 357 citizen justifiable shootings and 455 LEO shootings in 1993, compared to 2004 when there were 219 citizen justifiable shootings and 368 LEO shootings. Not bad considering the fact that this drop occurred during a time when Concealed Carry initiatives were gaining in popularity. For more information on justifiable homicides, see the USDOJ website webpage titled Homicide trends in the U.S. justifiable homicides.

Finally, Mr. Helmke mentions Non-fatal injuries. According to the (USDOJ) webpage entitled Firearms and Crime Statistics, the section titled Injury says: ”From 1993 through 1997, less than 1% of serious nonfatal violent victimizations resulted in gunshot wounds… the number of gunshot wounds from assaults treated in hospital emergency departments fell from 64,100 in 1993 to 39,400 in 1997, a 39% decline.”

After an examination of the available data cited throughout this article, one must conclude that, of the three choices I first presented, Mr. Helmke is just flat out wrong in his answer of question 2 presented during his interview. However, you probably already knew that when you first read it.

Written by George Szwagulak
Wednesday, 10 January 2007
As most all 2nd Amendment active people know, when an anti-gun person says something, it is usually an exaggeration, or it contains some hidden methodology that the American public would not normally associate with their wording, or it is just flat out wrong. So when I came across an interview with The Brady Campaign’s Paul Helmke, I read it and asked myself, “Which of those three choices is this?” Yes, every American deplores unnecessary deaths. This includes deaths caused by firearms. Gun owners are no different in this regard and we all should work to limit such tragedies as much as we possibly can. However, let’s do the hard work of making society and our families safer in an honest way that respects the Constitution. Take for instance question 2 that was asked during Mr. Helmke’s interview: Question 2: What do you see as the most worrisome trends in gun laws? Answer. The argument that worries me the most is that somehow we’d all be safer if nearly anyone, anytime and anywhere had a gun. Whether we’re talking homes, states or countries, more guns almost always means more deaths and more injuries. “Pushing” guns may be great financially for gun manufacturers, dealers and related businesses, but it does not make us safer. [b] Accidental shooting deaths, suicides and homicides, as well as non-fatal injuries, all increase when there are more guns. Wow. That is quite a bold and damaging statement… if it were actually true. According to the FBI’s NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM (NICS) -- January 2006 report, we can discover that an average of more than eight million firearms are were transferred each year from 1999 to 2005. If Mr. Helmke is correct, the United States are enduring an overwhelming epidemic of crime and gun deaths that increases proportionally with the eight million firearms transferred each year. We know that isn’t true. Therefore, let’s examine Mr. Helmke’s claims one by one to see if any of them hold water. Accidental shooting deaths – According to the NRA, Today's Gun Accident Rates Lowest On Record. “Among children, fatal firearm accidents have decreased 91 percent since 1975, according to studies by the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Safety Council.” Also weighing in on this subject is John Lott, who has researched the safe storage laws being passed in fifteen states. He said in his paper entitled, “Safe Storage Gun Laws: Accidental Deaths, Suicides, and Crime” that there is no supporting evidence that shows safe storage laws reduce either juvenile accidental gun deaths or suicides. Instead, these storage requirements appear to impair people’s ability to use guns defensively. Because accidental shooters also tend to be the ones most likely to violate the new law, safe storage laws increase violent and property crimes against low risk citizens with no observable offsetting benefit in terms of reduced accidents or suicides. During the first five years after the passage of the safe storage laws, the group of fifteen states that adopted these laws faced an annual average increase of over 300 more murders, 3,860 more rapes, 24,650 more robberies, and over 25,000 more aggravated assaults. On average, the annual costs borne by victims averaged over $2.6 billion as a result of lost productivity, out-of-pocket expenses, medical bills, and property losses. Perhaps Mr. Helmke meant hunting accidents. According to Outdoors editor Phil Bloom of Fortwayne.com (the same paper that did the interview with Mr. Helmke) Hunting accidents on decline -- Statistics show sport is safer than boating. “Accidents are on the decline, not only in Indiana but also nationally, according to the International Hunter Education Association, a Colorado-based organization that collects state-by-state data and reports that hunting-related accidents are 30 percent below what they were a decade ago. Fatalities attributed to hunting accidents have dropped from more than 200 nationally in 1987 to fewer than 100 annually from 1996 through 2002, the most recent year for which IHEA has a complete report.” Mr. Helmke next mentioned Suicide. According to a Harvard University study, although they find that firearms are one of the most effective means of suicide, the rates have remained stable for the past fifty years despite the fact that eight million transfers of firearms a year occurred. Researchers link firearms, suicide rate -- Suicide rates in the U.S. have remained steady for past 50 years. Next Mr. Helmke mentions Homicides. Not all homicides are murder. In this data, there is a group called justifiable homicides. Justifiable homicide is when a citizen or a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) uses a firearm to save their life or someone else’s life. These figures are erroneously included. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) at the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) website, gun-involved incidents increased sharply in the late 1980's and early 1990's before falling to a low in 1999. In looking at the figures, we discover that homicides reached a peak in 1993. Comparing that peak to the last available figure for 2004, the U.S. experienced a drop of 38% in firearm related homicides. All of this while the U.S. sale and or transfer of firearms are averaging a whopping 8 million per year. Looking at the available figures, we also were able to discover that even the number of justifiable homicides dropped using the same base years of 1993 and 2004. There were 357 citizen justifiable shootings and 455 LEO shootings in 1993, compared to 2004 when there were 219 citizen justifiable shootings and 368 LEO shootings. Not bad considering the fact that this drop occurred during a time when Concealed Carry initiatives were gaining in popularity. For more information on justifiable homicides, see the USDOJ website webpage titled Homicide trends in the U.S. justifiable homicides. Finally, Mr. Helmke mentions Non-fatal injuries. According to the (USDOJ) webpage entitled Firearms and Crime Statistics, the section titled Injury says: ”From 1993 through 1997, less than 1% of serious nonfatal violent victimizations resulted in gunshot wounds… the number of gunshot wounds from assaults treated in hospital emergency departments fell from 64,100 in 1993 to 39,400 in 1997, a 39% decline.” After an examination of the available data cited throughout this article, one must conclude that, of the three choices I first presented, Mr. Helmke is just flat out wrong in his answer of question 2 presented during his interview. However, you probably already knew that when you first read it.

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