Re: GUNS: Accidental Deaths

mark@unicorn.com
Thu, 4 Mar 1999 07:49:37 -0800 (PST)

Eric Ruud [ejruud@ucdavis.edu] wrote:
>For example, people might say that bees are more dangerous than
>great white sharks, simply because there are a greater number of bee deaths
>than great white deaths... you get where I'm going with this.

Uh, for the average American, bees *are* more dangerous than great white sharks. For the average American, their bathroom *is* more dangerous than a gun. For someone swimming with a great white shark it's more dangerous than a bee. For someone facing a jackbooted government thug, the thug's gun is more dangerous than their bathroom.

Why should we be concerned about these special cases when we're talking about the effect on the average American's life? The average American is far more likely to die in a bathroom accident than a gun accident. That's it. You're trying to turn the discussion to some special case which is irrelevant to what we're talking about.

Mark