As the United States finally begins a long awaited debate about how much regulation, if any, guns deserve in our society. Some statistics that are being left out of the discussion, but which should be considered are:
Fatalities of civilians by police officers. In 2011, over 1,100 people were shot, of whom over 600 died.
Fatalities of police officers. In 2012, 47 police officers have been killed by guns in the line of duty. It is with regret that I learned about 2 such police killings today in Texas and Wisconsin.
Fatalities of civilians abroad by U.S. soldiers. The number is not tracked by the U.S. Government, but in March of this year a U.S. soldier went on a rampage killing 9 children and 7 adults in an Afghani village.
About 1 percent of U.S. soldiers who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq died due to 'friendly fire.'
Most deaths from guns are suicides. In 2007 there were over 17,000 suicide deaths due to firearms.
About one-third of all non-fatal gun related injuries are accidental.
About 5% of all fatalities due to guns are accidental.
Now, consider that the NRA's solution to school shootings is to place armed volunteers at thousands of schools around the country - how long do you think it will be before someone gets shot and killed - intentionally or otherwise?
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