Friday, June 24, 2016

America's Second Amendment to the Constitution - Part V

Our Second Amendment states that we, the people of the United States have a right to bear arms.  I do not disagree with that at all.
   However, I'd like to share some statistics that were current  yesterday, 23 June 2016, in the United States.  Since 2016 is a leap year, 23 June 2016 was the 175th day of 2016.
In the 174 days that had passed  in 2016, here are a few startling numbers in the USA:
There had been a total of          24,978   shooting incidents reported.
The number of deaths were        6,406   from these reported incidents.
The number of injuries were     13,206   from these reported incidents.
The number of children were         273   killed or injured - aged newborn to 11 years.
The number of children were      1,388   killed or injured - aged 12 to 17 years.
The number of mass shootings       150   with 4 or more people killed and/or injured.
Law officer losses were                  155   killed.
Perpetrators killed in the act           386  by a law officer.
Guns used in home invasions      1,051
Defensive use of gun                      770   were reported.
Accidental shootings/firings        1,091   were reported.

   Do these numbers frighten you?  They do me.
From 1 October 2005 through 1 October 2015, the number of Americans killed in what were labeled as "terrorist attacks" in America were 24.  The number of Americans killed by guns in America during the same time period was 280,024.
    In 2015, an average of 30 people were shot and killed per day, plus another 200 were injured by gunfire.  This year, the average is (so far) 37 deaths per day, and 76 injuries from arms.

Consider this, please:  I do not own a gun.  If I applied for gun ownership, I believe I would be turned down, because I have been treated for depression for the past 20+ years.  I don't want to kill other people when I start feeling badly, I want to hurt myself.  I'm pretty confidant that I'd be turned down due to the background check....
   Am I scared of becoming fodder for a terrorist's weapon? Yes.  With today's instant news, and being an American citizen, I think anyone who isn't afraid is not all there upstairs.  But, let's look at some more statistics - again, all of the numbers I'm spouting are readily easy to check on Google, or any other search engine on the internet.  Not all statistics are readily available for our current place in time, but here are a few things to cogitate on:
  1.   In 2010 there were just 25 US noncombatant fatalities from terrorism worldwide.  More American citizens died overseas from traffic accidents or intestinal illness than from terrorism.
  2.   In 2011, it was noted that 17 American civilians had died that year worldwide from terrorism attacks.  At least 29 Americans died from lightning strikes in the same time period.
  3.   Of 160 countries surveyed, more Americans died from vehicular crashes on the roads than from homicide, with the exception of the Philippines.
  ***Using the Center for Disease Control numbers, the following statistics are consistently and substantially understating the risks of other causes of death as compared to terrorism, because I am comparing the death rates from various causes within the United States only against deaths from terrorism worldwide.
  You are 35,079 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack.
  You are 33,842 times more likely to die from cancer than from a terrorist attack.
  You are 5,882 to 23,528 times more likely to die from obesity and related issues than from a terrorist attack.
  You are 5,882 times more likely to die from a medical error than from a terrorist attack.
  You are 4,706 times more likely to drink yourself to death than die from a terrorism attack.
  You are 1,904 times more likely to die in a car accident than in a terrorist attack.  ***

Just a little more to follow, and I'll be quiet about the Second Amendment for a while....

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