Guns don’t kill people?

Did you know there are 283,000,000 guns in people’s hands in the United States?  With a population of 313,847,465, that works out to 90% of the public having guns.  Of course, that’s not correct because, hopefully, those 0-14 years of age (20.1% of the population) wouldn’t have them.  The United States has the highest concentration of guns in the world, by a large margin.  Using the 90% calculation above, the next highest concentration is found in Serbia with 58%.  Iraq only has 34%, Pakistan 12%, Russia 9%, the U.K. 6% and China 5%.  

Actually, it is estimated that one quarter of U.S. adults own a gun.  It’s highly concentrated with 20% of gun owners owning 65% of the guns.  And ownership is geographical, with the highest concentration in Wyoming (59.7% of the public) and the lowest concentration in Hawaii (8.7%).  Here in Texas, 35.9% own a gun, Rhode Island is at 12.8%.  Every time a gun injures or kills someone in self-defense, it is used 11 times in an attempted or successful suicide, 7 times in criminal assaults and homicides, and 4 times in unintentional shooting deaths or injuries.  Every year 97,820 people are shot in the United States (31,593 die, including 2,966 children).  That’s 268 per day.  It’s 6:30 AM as I write this.  That means that 73 people have already been shot today.  But that’s an average and today is a “special” day.

34.7% of Coloradans own a gun.  One was used to murder 14 people and wound 50 others at a Batman screening last night, one was a six year old girl.  The murderer brought four guns with him.  I’m guessing the little girl didn’t have one.