By David Alsabery Santa Monica
It seems that Lloyd Garver has an irrational fear of firearms in the hands of trained law abiding citizens. In his July 26 story “The land of 10,000 lakes and even more fire arms," he seems to be painfully unaware of the facts. Believe it or not, 43 out of 50 states have “shall carry permit laws” and they have not broken out in mass violence or regularly shoot the doctor for a bad nose job as he predicts.
In 1987 after gun control proved ineffective in Florida, they passed shall carry laws. After over 21 years, almost 1.4 million Floridians took training, background checks and got permits to carry a firearm. Only 165 permits have been revoked due to a firearm related infraction.
Florida’s homicide rate which was one of the highest in the country, dropped and is 5.9 percent versus California with 6.9 percent yet California has the best gun control in the country according to the Brady Campaign.
In the United States, according to the BATF, we own over 260 million firearms. In 2006 there were 250,851 million vehicles according to the U.S. Bureau of Transit Statistics. Yes we have more guns than vehicles in the United States. In 2004 all U.S. accidental deaths from firearms totaled 649, with only 63 happening to children 15 and under. In contrast we have 8.1 million swimming pools, with 3,308 people drowning in 2004. Some 761 under the age of 15 drowned while 143 under the age of 5 drowned in toilet bowls. Ban swimming pools and toilet bowls!
In 2007 out of 303 million Americans, 16,204 died in a homicide. The population has increased by 50 percent, gun control laws have been removed, gun ownership is on the rise, more carry permits than ever and total homicides are down lower than 1970 numbers? How can that be? Where is the pandemonium? Gun fights in the streets?
Ed Davis, one of the authors of the first FBI National Study on Criminal use of Firearms concluded in 2007, said none of these criminals were “hindered by any law — federal, sate or local — that has ever been established to prevent gun ownership. They just laughed at gun laws." Guns and legal gun owners don’t kill people, criminals ignoring the laws kill people.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 29, 2008. Read the original PDF.