Doctors kill more people than guns do

“Doctors Kill More People Than Guns Do
Nathan Tabor
Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004

Back before the November election, many mainstream media pundits – trying desperately to get John Kerry elected – began to harp on President Bush's unwillingness to stop certain federal gun control laws from expiring as scheduled. But their propaganda efforts came to naught because this issue was a non-starter with the American people.
The fact is, in this day of post-9/11 increased security consciousness, most average Americans simply don’t want more gun control. They want more guns on hand to defend themselves and their loved ones in the face of possible life-threatening danger. Soccer moms are now taking handgun proficiency courses down at the local firing range.

Liberals are always complaining about getting to the root of the problem – unless it deals with gun rights. Then they abandon all logical analysis and resort to hysteria, distortion and downright lies.

Today I want to set the record straight and dispel a few of the more common myths with some hard facts.

First, according to statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there is an interesting correlation between accidental deaths caused by guns and those caused by doctors.

Doctors: (A) There are 700,000 physicians in the U.S. (B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians total 120,000 per year. (C) Accidental death percentage per physician is 0.171.

Guns: (A) There are 80 million gun owners in the U.S. (B) There are 1,500 accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups. (C) The percentage of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000188.

Statistically, then, doctors are 9,000 times more dangerous to the public health than gun owners are.

Fact: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR. Following the logic of liberals, we should all be warned: "Guns don't kill people. Doctors do."

More seriously, Dr. Glen Otero of the Claremont Institute has published an enlightening article entitled "Ten Myths About Gun Control." (The entire article can be found at the Web site of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws, www.dsgl.org) Here are just a few of his well-documented findings.


Approximately 80 percent of all adult American citizens own firearms, and a gun can be found in nearly half of American households.

Between 1974 and 1995, the total number of privately owned firearms in America increased by 75 percent, to 236 million. During the same period, national homicide and robbery rates did NOT significantly increase.

Fewer than 1 percent of all guns are involved in any type of crime, which means that over 99 percent of all guns are NOT used to commit any crime.

In 1987, the National Crime Victimization Survey estimated that about 83 percent of Americans would become the victims of violent crime during the course of their lifetimes.

The National Self-Defense Survey found that between 1988 and 1993, American civilians used firearms in self-defense almost 2.5 million times per year, saving up to 400,000 lives per year in the process.

Guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens deter crime. Where U.S. counties have enacted concealed-carry laws, murder rates fell by 8 percent, rape by 5 percent, and aggravated assault by 7 percent. Urban counties recorded the largest decreases demographically.

You get the picture: Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. But sometimes law-abiding citizens with guns can save the lives of other innocent people.

It’s time to restore some common sense to the hysterical debate over gun control. When Cain killed Abel with a rock, God didn’t ban all rocks. He dealt with Cain personally. We need to enforce our criminal laws against murder, robbery and assault.

I will cite the testimony of just one more expert witness. No, it’s not another politician or media pundit. Here’s what former Mafia underboss, self-confessed hit man and government informant Sammy "The Bull" Gravano had to say:

"Gun control? It’s the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I’m a bad guy, I’m always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You pull the trigger with a lock on, and I’ll pull the trigger. We’ll see who wins."

It’s time for liberals to go out and buy a gun. And maybe get a life – or at least protect one.

Copyright © 2004 by Nathan Tabor”

“Approximately 80 percent of all adult American citizens own firearms, and a gun can be found in nearly half of American households

Huh?

I think the important point in this is that he limits it to accidental gun deaths as opposed to all gun deaths. Not exactly the same thing.

I am a gun owner, btw.”

“"It’s time for liberals to go out and buy a gun. And maybe get a life – or at least protect one."

It's time for ULTRAPecker to get a life........or maybe medication for his paranoia.

Buy a gun??
Is the gun industry hurtin' that bad?”

“This wasn't the doctor's fault, but a woman was killed in the hospital by someone injecting her intravenous with a chemical cleanser that was next to her medicine. This was a real rarity; the hospital readily admitted their wrong doing.

Nevermind deaths by doctors, how about leaving sponges in people or that doctor that carved his initials into the uteruses of woman he did surgery on? How about the new suggestion of before going into surgery, you should put an "x" mark on the leg or arm "NOT" to be operated on as sometimes they operate on or remove the wrong limb.

Always double check your doctor for his diagnosis and medicine they give you. They are not perfect.”

“LH - that's not a new suggestion, but a common occurance. They usually mark what they're going to operate on.”

“"I think the important point is that he limits it to accidental gun deaths as opposed to all gun deaths. Not exactly the same thing.

I am a gun owner, btw."

dayhiker
8:42:37 PM
12/30/04

I think the important thing is that he limits it to accidental deaths by doctors. Not puposeful deaths like abortion.

Guns are not inherently evil as some people are.


"It's time for ULTRAPecker to get a life........or medication for his paranoia."

MarkO
9:37:38 PM
12/30/04


I have no paranoia. I just like guns. In fact I have no handguns. Just guns I can hunt with.”

“"Death Spectrum"

Annual US Deaths Due to Various causes
Compiled by Arthur Hu
---------------------------------------------------
Number User Rate
Acc. Chlorpyrifos poison 0
Disneyland 0.2
Latex gloves 0.3
Shark Attack 1
Bean Bag Chair suffocation 1
Acetaminophen child 1
Baby walker 1
Amusement Park 1-2 260M 1 in 260M
Baby playpens 1.5
Newspaper boy 2 WSJ 7/2002
Stage Diving (concert) 1997 2
Car Trunk child 89-99 avg 2
Soda Machine Toppling 2
Furniture tipover under5 yrs 3
Flammable sleepwear 2-3
Fireworks 1999 4 Newsweek 8/13/2001
HS College football play heat 4
Gyrocopters 1996-2001 4
Bunk Beds 5
Hawaii Helicopters 5
Charter Bus 6
Old Seattle I90 bridge 7
Bath seat drownings 8 1 per 100,000 seats
Roller Skates 10 27M 1 in 2.7 million
Children 2-6 in Car Trunk 98 11 1 in 160,000
Window blind cords 13
Coal Mines 2001 14
Airbag Children 15
Amtrak passenger/crew 15 1 in 4.2 million
Elderly Bed Rails 85-99 16
Drawstring hoods 1995 17
Snowmobile avalanche 01-02 18 Newsweek Apr 15 02 p8
Children household poisons 20
Dog Bites 20 1 in 12 million
Killed by guns in school 86-9 23
Avalanche 20-25
Mud/Landslide 25-50
---#1 natural disaster?----------
Playground 25
Skydiving 30
Alaskan Fishermen 30
Skiing deaths 34 1 in 10 million
Boating WA 94 36
15 passenger vans 90-02 40
Hurricane 1940-81 47
Construction Crane 50 1 in 1000 operators
Bee Wasp stings 50
Personal Watercraft 54
Killed School Bus 86-9 58
1999 Bus deaths 58
Lightning '95 89
Chickenpox 90
Needle Sticks 100
Fire Ants 100
'99 child in adult car belt 105
Flood 40-81 109
Candles 126
Tornado 40-81 128
Police Officers 2000 151
Lightning 40-81 188
Airline 200
Car Deer Collisions 211
Campylobacter(chicken) 200-1000
IllImm Mex-US Border '97 300
Bicycle Under 14 300
Childbirth 302
CJD brain disease 300-400
Heat related illness 318 Newsweek 8/13/01
Struck by trains 1999 530
CO Poisoning 594
General Aviation 600
Children under 4 cars 700
Recreational Boating 1996 714
Bicycle 1995 800
Railroad 1999 805
Child pedestrian[3] 1,100
Water borne disease 50- 1,200
Agriculture 1,300
CO Poisoning 1,500
Rec Boating 1973 1,754
Car Hit by SUV U Michigan 2,000
Motorcycle 2,500
Car Phone 2002 Harvard 2,500
Subcompact cars NHTSA 2-3,000
EPA Second Hand Smoke 3,000
Fire 4,500
Drowning 4,621
Teen car accidents 5,500
Pedestrian accidents 6,000
Occupational Injuries 6,200
Adverse Drug Reactions 7,000
Food Illness 9,000
Skin Cancers 9,733
Railroad 1917 10,000
Bladder Cancer 11,700
Falls 12,662
Shooting Murder 15,456
Diet related Cancer 16,000
Alchohol Driving 17,126
Influenza 20,000
AIDS 20,000
Radon (EPA high) 20,000
Lukemia 21,000
Suicide 1994[2] (#9) 31,142
Prostate Cancer 40,000
Breast Cancer 44,560
Motor Vehicle 50,000
Lukemia & Related 56,000
Colon Cancer 60,000
Mass Smallpox Vacc 71,250
Unintended Injuries (#5) 87,000
Medical Mistakes 98,000
Alchohol Related 100,000
Adverse Drug Reactions 106,000 JAMA '98
Trauma 125,000
Medical Negligence est 150,000
Lung Cancer 158,700
Diabetes related 169,000
Influenza/pneumonia (#6) 200,000
Obesity (#2?)[1] 300,000
Tobacco related (#1?) 500,000
Cancer (#2) 500,000
Diseases of heart (#1) 733,834

Abortion (#1) 930,000 added this one myself.”

“All by yourself??

(Happy New Year, Dude)”

“And more people are shot in hunting accidents than in home defense situations.”