Do the statistics support the law making & regulations???

[BarnkleBob]

The title of this thread posits whether the statistics support the legislation & regulations
in our daily lives. I will not when presenting the subject matter allude to opinion, only the
reported data. Firstly we will look at current firearms statistics. To wit: The U.S. Census Bureau reported the population of the U.S.A.
308,745,538 (2010). STOCKPILES OF FIREARMS; Civilian owned: 270,000.000
Military 3,054,553 Police\ LEO 897,400 Total non-civilian guns 3,951,953.... GUN DEATH &
INJURY; Total Homocides ANY method 14,159 (2010), Homocides per 100,000 pop. 4.6 (2010), Gun Homocides 9,146 (2009), Gun
Homocides per 100,000 pop. 2.98 (2009)..... NUMBER OF SUICIDES ANY method
32,599 (2005) Rate of Suicide per 100,000 pop. 11.96 (2008) Gun Suicides 17,002 Gun suicide per 100,000 pop. 5.75.... ACCIDENTAL
\UNINTENTIONAL GUN DEATHS 789 (2005)..... GUN DEATHS UNDETERMINED
CAUSE 54 (2001)..... Source: http:// www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states

[BarnkleBob]

Next we will peruse transportation statistics. Please feel free to add additional subject
matter statistics.... Cumulative estimated miles traveled annually in U.S.A. 1,455.7
BILLION. Source: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ policyinform...ntvt/index.cfm also see: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ policyinformation/index.cfm According to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics for 2009 there are
254,212,610 registered passenger vehicles. Of these, 193,979,654 wereclassified as "Light
duty vehicle, short wheel base, while another 40,488,025 were listed as "Light duty vehicle, long wheel base." Yet another 8,356,097 were
classified as vehicles with 2 axles and 6 tires and 2,617,118 were classified as "Truck,
combination." There were approximately 7,929,724 motorcycles in the US in 2009.
Source: http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Passen..._United_States FATAL\LETHAL crash fatalities: 32,885 (2010) atrributes: DUI\drunk driving 32%, speeding
31%, distraction 16%, bad weather 11% Source: http://www.statisticbrain.com/car-cr...-statistics-2/ In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-
impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in
the United States. Source: http:// www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafet...factsheet.html In 2010 there were 5,419,000 police-reported
motor vehicle traffic crashes, down 1.6 percent from 5,505,000 in 2009. Of total crashes in
2010,1,542,000 caused injuries and 3,847,000 caused property damage only. Source: http;//
www.rmiia.org/auto/traffic_safety/Cost_of_ crashes.asp

[BarnkleBob]

Facts on Prescription Drug Deaths and the Drug Industry updated August 21, 2011 Prescription drugs taken as prescribed in hospitals are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S and Canada, after cancer, heart disease and strokes. They cause about 10,000 deaths a year in Canada and about 106,000 deaths a year and over two million serious injuries in the U.S. (Source: Lazarouet al JAMA Vol. 279 No. 15 pp.1200-1205 Incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospital Patients) http://theconference.ca/facts-on-prescription-drug-deaths-and-the-drug-industry

[BarnkleBob]

Number of medically attended injury and poisoning episodes in the noninstitutionalized population: 37.9 million Episodes per 1,000 population: 123.8.... All injury deaths Number of deaths: 177,154 Deaths per 100,000 population: 57.7..... All poisoning deaths Number of deaths: 41,592 Deaths per 100,000 population: 13.5 Hospital inpatient care Number of discharges for fractures (all sites): 1.1 million Number of discharges for poisonings: 292,000 Number of discharges for certain complications of surgical and medical care: 1.0 million http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ fastats/injury.htm

[BarnkleBob]

Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States.1 How big is the problem? From 2005-2009, there were an average of 3,533 fatal unintentional drownings (non-boating related) annually in the United States — about ten deaths per day. An additional 347 people died each year from drowning in boating-related incidents.2 About one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger.2 For every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.1 More than 50% of drowning victims treated in emergency departments (EDs) require hospitalization or transfer for further care (compared with a hospitalization rate of about 6% for all unintentional injuries).1,2 These nonfatal drowning injuries can cause severe brain damage that may result in long- term disabilities such as memory problems, learning disabilities, and permanent loss of basic functioning (e.g., permanent vegetative state) .3,4 http://www.cdc.gov/ homeandrecreation...factsheet.html

[BarnkleBob]

The shocking data: Gun Homocides 9146 + Gun Suicides 17002 = 26848 + Motor vehicle fatalities 32885 = 59033 + Poisoning deaths 41592 + Drowing deaths 3,533 = 104,158 deaths.... compared to Pharma Deaths of 106000+. Think about it... over 270 million guns, 250 million motor vehicles traveling 1.4+ trillion miles annually, there are 12.7 million registered boats ( http://www.news.thomasnet.com/compan...944?nomobile=1 ), 8.6 million swimming pools ( http://www.marketresearch.com/SBI-v775/Swimming-Pool-Equipment-Maintenance-Products-1461666/view-toc/ ) 2 oceans, the GOM, thousands of lakes & ponds, millions of gallons of toxic household chemicals etc. .... and the Pharma Industry kills more than all of these combined....

[BarnkleBob]

The statistics IMO do not justify shake downs, road blocks, carry permits, etc... the vast majority of Americans for the most part are law abiding & non-violent..... TOP TEN LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH IN AMERICA: Number of deaths for leading causes of death Heart disease #1: 599,413 Cancer #2: 567,628 Chronic lower respiratory diseases #3: 137,353 Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases) #4: 128,842 Accidents (unintentional injuries) #5: 118,021 Alzheimer's disease #6: 79,003 Diabetes #7: 68,705 Influenza and Pneumonia #8: 53,692 Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis #9: 48,935 Intentional self-harm (suicide) #10: 36,909 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm Note above the BIG TEN, which begs the question... "why is there billions spent on the so-called war on contraband drugs when there should be billions spent on the top ten Real Threats to public health & safety???

[BarnkleBob]

Gang demographics There were at least 30,000 gangs and 800,000 gang members active across the USA in 2007,[4][5] up from 731,500 in 2002 and 750,000 in 2004.[6] By 1999, Hispanics accounted for 47% of all gang members, Blacks 34%, Whites 13%, and Asians 6%. http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Gangs_..._United_States The total number of gang homicides reported by respondents in the NYGS sample averaged nearly 2,000 annually from 2006 to 2010. During the same time period, the FBI estimated, on average, more than 16,000 homicides across the United States (http:// www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the- u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/tables/10tbl01.xls ). These estimates suggest that gang-related homicides typically accounted for around 12 percent of all homicides annually. http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Su...-Gang-Problems