Having received this email doing the rounds, which appears to be from 2013, I've done just a little web searching to see if a) this has a canonical URL, and b) if something basic is being twisted (a lie) or missed (lie by oversight). So far, I've found these URLs: http://bergersbeat.com/gun-control-and-statistical-facts-collide/ (this link includes in the comments a "stat" that in an average year in America, 17,000 of these gun related deaths are of children, so something doesn't seem to add up) This link duplicates the same 'article': https://farmacyseeds.net/forums/showthread.php/26139-Guns-Gun-Control-Real-S... This is where I've landed on this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States which appears to confirm the stats below. Of course we object to the statement "15% are by law enforcement in the line of duty and justified" which is a blatantly lie, but notwithstanding, the stats seem to basically match up. Previously to today, I had assumed that the "pro-firearms"/ "guns are relatively safe" position was a twist on the facts by pro-gun fanatics (oneself comes to mind) where the slogan "guns don't kill people, people do" rules the conversation. In fact, it seems that reducing the number of double cheeseburgers one consumes in a week will drastically improve your life span, statistically speaking, whereas banning guns is close to immeasurable in this regard. That sounds pretty black and white. Am I missing anything here? Zenaan ----- Original Message ----- Guns and drugs. Drugs and guns. There is a connection folks!! Interesting Facts About Gun Control: There are 30,000 gun related deaths per year by firearms, and this number is not disputed. U.S. population 324,059,091 as of Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Do the math: 0.000000925% of the population die from gun related actions each year. Statistically speaking, this is insignificant! What is never told, however, is a breakdown of those 30,000 deaths, to put them in perspective as compared to other causes of death: • 65% of those deaths are by suicide which would never be prevented by gun laws • 15% are by law enforcement in the line of duty and justified • 17% are through criminal activity, gang and drug related or mentally ill persons – gun violence • 3% are accidental discharge deaths So technically, "gun violence" is not 30,000 annually, but drops to 5,100. Still too many? Well, first, how are those deaths spanned across the nation? • 480 homicides (9.4%) were in Chicago • 344 homicides (6.7%) were in Baltimore • 333 homicides (6.5%) were in Detroit • 119 homicides (2.3%) were in Washington D.C. (a 54% increase over prior years) So basically, 25% of all gun crime happens in just 4 cities. All 4 of those cities have strict gun laws, so it is not the lack of law that is the root cause. This basically leaves 3,825 for the entire rest of the nation - or about 75 deaths per state. That is an average because some States have much higher rates than others. For example, California had 1,169 - and Alabama had 1. Now, who has the strictest gun laws by far? California, of course, but understand, so it is not guns causing this. It is a crime rate spawned by the number of criminal persons residing in those cities and states. So if all cities and states are not created equally, then there must be something other than the tool causing the gun deaths. Are 5,100 deaths per year horrific? How about in comparison to other deaths? All death is sad and especially so when it is in the commission of a crime but that is the nature of crime. Robbery, death, rape, assault - all are done by criminals and thinking that criminals will obey laws is ludicrous. That's why they are criminals. But what about other deaths each year? • 40,000+ die from a drug overdose – THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT! • 36,000 people die per year from the flu, far exceeding the criminal gun deaths • 34,000 people die per year in traffic fatalities (exceeding gun deaths even if you include suicide) Now it gets good: • 200,000+ people die each year (and growing) from preventable medical errors. You are safer in Chicago than when you are in a hospital! • 710,000 people die per year from heart disease. It’s time to stop the double cheeseburgers! So what is the point? If Obama and the anti-gun movement focused their attention on heart disease, even a 10% decrease in cardiac deaths would save twice the number of lives annually of all gun-related deaths (including suicide, law enforcement, etc.). A 10% reduction in medical errors would be 66% of the total gun deaths or 4 times the number of criminal homicides.... Simple, easily preventable 10% reductions! So you have to ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, why the focus on guns? It's pretty simple. Taking away guns gives control to governments. The founders of this nation knew that regardless of the form of government, those in power may become corrupt and seek to rule as the British did by trying to disarm the populace of the colonies. It is not difficult to understand that a disarmed populace is a controlled populace. Thus, the second amendment was proudly and boldly included in the U.S. Constitution. It must be preserved at all costs. So the next time someone tries to tell you that gun control is about saving lives, look at these facts and remember these words from Noah Webster: "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States. A military force at the command of Congress can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power." Remember, when it comes to "gun control", the important word is "control," not "gun." Surprisingly, these are not the statistics you hear about from the media or from the White House…. ever wonder why?