Month: December 2012

Dispelling the Myth: Firearm is more dangerous than Drunk Driving

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After seeing all this debate about gun control and comparing it to drunk driving, I decided to find the facts out for myself. If there is a strong principle that I advocate whole-heartedly, it is this:

Independent investigation of Truth

And so, I set out to investigate the numbers on my own using the sources available to me by the Department of Justice and Center for Disease Control.

Result

More people die or get injured by Firearms annually than drunk driving. According the the Bureau of Justice statistics for period of 2005-2010, the average annual death/injury/terrorization by firearm is 155,250 victims (Source: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/vvcs9310.pdf – Page 7, Table 9)

According to Center for Disease Control, the 2010 statistics alone for drunk driving lead to death of 10,228 in 2010 alone (source: http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Impaired_Driving/data.html)

For both cases, further control and regulation reduced deaths in each scenario.

Myth: Busted

Extra: Mental Health and Gun Violence

Data about Mental Health vs. Non-Mental Health that committed crime:

According to the Bureau of Justice, nearly 1 in 5 violent crimes are done by someone considered mentally unstable (whether psychological, drug based, or alcohol). Based on 2006 research, they found:

“Female inmates had higher rates of mental health problems than male inmates—in state prisons, 73 percent of females and 55 percent of males; in federal prisons, 61 percent of females and 44 percent of males; and in local jails, 75 percent of females and 63 percent of males.”

The cause behind such mental problems are:

“When compared with other inmates and probationers, the mentally ill inmates and probationers reported higher rates of prior physical and sexual abuse and higher rates of alcohol and drug abuse by a parent or guardian while they were growing up. Among mentally ill state prisoners, nearly a third of men and three-quarters of the women said they had been physically or sexually abused in the past. More than 40 percent of the mentally ill inmates said their parents had abused alcohol or drugs. More than half said a parent, brother or sister had also been in prison or jail.”

And finally, to dispel the firearm matter when it comes to mental health:

“Use of a weapon did not vary by mental health status

Convicted violent offenders who had a mental health problem were as likely as those without to have used a weapon during the offense (table 9). An estimated 37% of both State prisoners who had a mental problem and those without said they had used a weapon during the offense. By specific type of weapon, among convicted violent offenders in State prisons who had a mental health problem, slightly less than a quarter (24%) had used a firearm, while a tenth (10%) had used a knife or sharp object.”

Source: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/mhppji.pdf

Gun Control Economics

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Today, twenty children and six adults were killed in a shooting in Newton, Connecticut [BBC Link]. Among the killed was the killer, who took away his life after committing his massacre. In 2012 alone, there has been four mass shootings. Among them include the shooting in a mall in Oregon, in a movie theater in Colorado and a Sikh temple in Colorado. Despite the numbers of death caused by guns, there are few who are adamant to bring the gun control issue up.

Before I resume, I would like to state that I am completely against guns, as I find its purpose is to kill. A purpose that lacks any moral and logical foundation, and is poison to our community and society. A human invention that has led to the death of people all across the world.

Gun Control – The Challenge

As mentioned before, there are individuals in our society who are adamant and unwilling to let go of certain opinions that promote and endorse the distribution of weapons to society under the banner of defense and freedom. Whenever the issue of Gun Control arises, those who advocate for it face many challenges. Among such challenges include: Lobby groups such as the NRA, the 18th Century Amendment in the United States Constitution, and lack of education and awareness by the public. Based on those factors, utilization of a legal policy to minimize gun usage, or implement gun control, through law alone is insufficient. Therefore, a different method should be utilized to address this matter.

Economics of Gun Control

Given the delicate situation, the medium I suggest to mitigate gun related crimes is through economic penalization and economic reward. How would it work? Let’s start with the fist of law:

Economic Penalty

At every crime scene, it is easy to determine the weapon and bullet used that inflicted injury or death of a person. With every casualty, whether death or injury, the institutions supplying such weapons and bullets will be penalized significantly. A good example can be as follows:

27 people died in this incident, with over 100 bullets were shot during the killing spree. For each casualty, it’s a $500,000 per body and for each bullet it is $1000/each bullet fired. The total would be $13.5 Million for deaths alone, and over $100,000 for just bullets alone.

The disadvantage of such process that I’m sure will arise in Congress is the value of life. Can life be really worth $500,000? How do we determine the potential capacity lost? It is a very sensitive subject, but it requires to be addressed.

The proceeds of such financial penalty will be devoted for the families who have lost their loved ones, the medical attention they need, and for the emergency team that have devoted their time and efforts to bring calm and peace to their community.

The increase in the cost will provide a pinch to the gun suppliers and producers. Promoting for the push for stricter rules to be implemented to minimize losses and finding an optimum point where cost and benefit balances (unfortunately, I don’t think gun organization view humans as beings but rather as an economic resource to which they wish to sell guns to).

Economic Benefit

The benefits that will be provided for a company whose weapons are not found in crime scenes, or have minimized the number of their weapons in the market, is getting better access to gun bids for government defense contracts, gaining a better stature in the public light. That’s about it. No monetary benefit or discount. The goal is to enstill a better sense of community and human nature in those institutions to view each casualty as a loss for the community, and the world.

This may be need to be revised, but it is a proposal I would like the world to know of, and I hope it is for the best.

In the meantime, I would like to share this prayer for the children who have passed away today in the world:

“That beloved child addresseth thee from the hidden world: ‘O thou kind Mother, thank divine Providence that I have been freed from a small and gloomy cage and, like the birds of the meadows, have soared to the divine world—a world which is spacious, illumined, and ever gay and jubilant. Therefore, lament not, O Mother, and be not grieved; I am not of the lost, nor have I been obliterated and destroyed. I have shaken off the mortal form and have raised my banner in this spiritual world. Following this separation is everlasting companionship. Thou shalt find me in the heaven of the Lord, immersed in an ocean of light.’”

-‘Abdu’l-Baha