Who Are These People That Kill People?

Gun advocates tout that homicides rates from the use of a firearm have decreased even while the number of guns outstanding increased; one such example can be found at www.thetruthaboutguns.com, in the article entitled, Guns and Violence in the United States, By the Numbers.  The author concludes “that the object [i.e. a gun] is not the problem[,] but instead it’s the behavior that needs to be changed.” The author may not realize it, but he just advocated for responsible gun ownership with which I could not agree more.

This commonly held belief among gun advocates that the "gun is not the problem" is encapsulated in the NRA slogan, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” I find it snarky and disingenuous. David Kyle Johnson Ph.D., a professor of philosophy at King’s College (PA), in www.psychologytoday.com shares his analysis of the statement to explain why it is annoying to some. He contends that the statement mixes the different degrees of causation, which causes confusion and frustration.  He concludes that “people are the ultimate cause and guns are merely proximate causes,” which is in-line with the argument above. With that in mind, let’s turn our focus on those “people,” those that own a gun (or two, or three, or…).

While we do not have accurate data due to gun advocates via the NRA blocking data collection, arguably, it is common knowledge that the number of guns owned in the US has increased whereas the rate of gun ownership has decreased. Irrefutably, occurring at the same time, total US population has increased.  Therefore, using data collected from reputable sources, I conclude that rates of homicides-from-a-firearm per 100,000 of gun owners has increased 26% from 1970 to 2015 as shown in the table below (please note I list my data sources, unlike the first article mentioned above). I attribute the increase to "proximate causes" coupled with "ultimate cause"; essentially, gun owners became less responsible for a myriad of reasons for which we have no discernible answer because....well maybe the gun industry does not want to be held accountable for its bad behavior so why not block research.

Some gun advocates may argue that the 2015 gun ownership rate is too, low.  First, they should stop carping. Secondly, if they want more accurate data then they should start tracking it so they can make a sound argument.  However, to appease these folks I calculate the implied gun ownership rate so homicides rates remain flat, which is shown in the chart below; essentially, 2 our 5 people would need to own a gun, a figure I do not think is reasonable to expect.

At the end of the day, guns equate to death; there is a ratio as shown above. The ratio may change depending upon the society, but the ratio exists.  Therefore, to have less gun related deaths then either there needs to be fewer gun owners (as an increasing number of them have demonstrated that they are a scourge to our society and a threat to our freedoms) or society must dictate policies and procedures that all gun owners must follow so our freedoms are protected. To use a gun advocate's own words,  “the [gun owner's] behavior … needs to be changed.”  I encourage gun advocates to start embracing legislation that promotes responsible gun ownership among their ranks so they can have access to guns and we can all enjoy more freedom, not less.