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Some food for thought.

themattsmith:

I don’t mean this to necessarily have a point of view, I just thought the numbers were interesting.

  • 200 million privately owned guns in the US (FBI estimate, and the fact that they have to estimate is kind of an issue)
  • over the last 10 years, there were roughly 9,500 gun homicides and 16,000 gun suicides per year
  • 250 million passenger vehicles in the US (Dept, of Transportation estimate)
  • over the last 10 years, there were roughly 35,000 automobile-related deaths per year

I think it’s disingenuous and a little misleading to put these statistics next to each other as if they’re comparable. They’re not, and the main reason they aren’t is that cars have a purpose other than killing, and that purpose is necessary for the functioning of our society. Guns have one purpose, and it’s killing things. Their existence is not necessary for society to function - in fact, in many ways, it’s detrimental to the smooth functioning of society. So, that’s a lot of completely unnecessary deaths at the hand of a pure weapon that serves no other useful purpose. Not really the same thing as a car.

PRINT THIS POST WORDS: Notes: 20 12/16/12 — 4:44pm Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZzgiZyZVPVU7
 
  1. idoitallforthem reblogged this from themattsmith and added:
    I think we need to align our gun laws with what the UK has. People still hunt, but they have strong laws to govern guns....
  2. whiskeyandrainbows reblogged this from themattsmith and added:
    There’s no question that cars are dangerous, and they have their drawbacks. However, until someone invents another way...
  3. themattsmith reblogged this from whiskeyandrainbows and added:
    I find it interesting that people keep pointing out that guns are only good for killing things. Saying that they serve...
  4. dljs said: Major difference: the gun deaths are the direct result of intent; of action. Car deaths can be, and usually are, accidental. The problem with emphasizing gun safety is that it does nothing to phaze a person who wants to be intentionally unsafe.
  5. boggle- said: (looked at older posts, nevermind)
  6. karion said: It is interesting, particularly since a gun’s primary purpose is to take life, and a car’s primary purpose is transportation. Weird how cars are better at the job of guns.
  7. themattsmith posted this