Have Gun Deaths Surpassed Automobile Deaths In the US?

The latest news to get gun control fanatics all a dither is a report showing gun deaths have exceeded automobile accident deaths in some cities and states. And gun deaths were predicted to exceed automobile deaths nationwide by this year, 2015.

There are a lot of reasons for this change. Comparing the two causes of deaths is like comparing which is best to use, live bait for bass or rifles for deer. The gun control lobby wants to use the statistics to demand more restrictions on law abiding citizens to own guns. Of course they ignore the fact that owning a gun is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and driving is not.

John Lott, Jr. has done a lot of research on gun violence. In an article for Fox News he presents facts about these two sources of deaths in the US. (I know, Fox News is denigrated by those getting all their propaganda from MSNBC and related sources, hated by them like the Nazis were in WWII and called liars by them, but that is a whole nother story)

He shows that gun deaths have risen and car deaths fallen, but demonstrates that accidental deaths from cars are 99.4% of the total while accidental deaths from guns are only 1.5%, And the car deaths drop corresponds to the rise in gas prices, making people drive less. As gas prices came down recently, car deaths have risen.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution in a headline this past Sunday reflects this. It says “Roadway deaths in Georgia have increased by nearly a third so far this year, a troubling jump that transportation officials and experts are struggling to explain.”

As Lott says “But if increased safety regulations are the solution, why is it that between 2000 and 2013 accidental deaths from guns fell twice as much as those from cars (35% to 18%)?”

Another claim is guns are too easy to get so more people use them to kill themselves. That ignores the fact if people wanting to commit suicide could not get guns they would find some other way. As Lott points out “Despite fewer murders and accidental gun deaths, gun deaths have risen slightly because of a 28% increase in firearm suicides. But non-firearm suicides increased even faster (56%) – something is causing suicides in general to rise.

One hue and cry from the gun control fanatics is a demand for more background checks, like the Brady Law. But, as Lott says, they ignore the facts, a common trait of that group. “The Economist points to a new Bloomberg-backed study claiming that prohibited people with criminal records made 7 out of 169 online gun purchases. Unfortunately, they merely verify that people with names similar to those who are actually prohibited were interested in buying guns. They never showed that prohibited people actually bought a gun.”

“Some guns were listed as having not gone through background checks, when in fact they had. In reality, Bloomberg’s groups have inadvertently exposed the problems with the current background check system.”

Lott’s bottom line is “So will gun control advocates ever explain why accidental gun deaths have fallen more than those for cars? Or why non-firearm suicides rose twice as fast as firearm suicides? I predict they never will.”

His article is at http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/02/12/which-is-more-likely-to-kill-car-or-gun/

My bottom line is this, something not mentioned by anyone I have seen. How may car deaths were caused by cars illegally owned, compared to guns deaths caused by guns illegally owned?

All too often, but just a few times a year, a car death caused by an illegal alien who should not even be in the US make the headlines. But almost every day headlines about a shooting include the fact the shooter was charged with possession of a gun by a convicted felon. One of the most recent was the Griffin daily News 4/16/15 article about the felon that shot the two year old in a car on Highway 19/41. He broke laws to even have a gun.

Some say there are 20,000 gun laws in the US. Others dispute this number saying “there are only 300 federal gun laws” and that state laws are not relevant somehow. Even if you swallow this claim that gun laws are really not gun laws, there are 300 federal laws that criminals using guns violate.

How many laws are enough? If 300 are not sufficient, with 301 do? What law should be passed that only law abiding citizens will follow? Laws have no effect on criminals so, as Hillary said, at this point what does it matter?

Take anything about guns and cars – in fact, anything you read or hear about – with a grain of salt. Look for the agenda of those making the claims, including me. Get the facts for yourself.