XDFDE45 said:
Jerri said there is no "causal" relationship between owning/carrying guns and crime rates dropping but there IS between owning/carrying guns and gun deaths.
Well then, we need to look at the rate of gun deaths, both lawful (defense) & not (murder), and compare that with the rate of gun ownership.
I'll give her that history shows for a year or so after a state allows concealed carry there are more defensive (lawful) shootings of criminals/attackers. But that drops off once the remaining thugs begin to understand their next victim could be their last.
But the Brady Bunch, Joyce Foundation, & W"AV"E don't bother to separate out the lawful defensive shootings from the unlawful ones, or to look beyond the criminal mindset adjustment period, so they can "truthfully" say that there are more shootings when states allow carry, esp. concealed carry.
TTBOMK, the rate of gun ownership keeps increasing, and the rate of unlawful shootings & other violent crime decreases.
As far as the link between owning/carrying & "gun deaths" (guns can't die 'cause they weren't alive to begin with), if you don't have one you can't use it, so it's true that people who own/carry are much more likely to be involved in a shooting. But again, they don't distinguish between lawful & un-, so their stats are worthless.