Courtesy of the Washington Post:
In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting, the National Rifle Association proposed putting more guns in schools. After a racist shot up a Charleston prayer group, an NRA board member argued for more guns in church. And now predictably, politicians and gun rights advocates are calling for guns in movie theaters after a loner killed two people at a theater in Louisiana.
The notion that more guns are always the solution to gun crime is taken seriously in this country. But the research shows that more guns lead to more gun homicides -- not less. And that guns are rarely used in self-defense.
Now a new study from researchers at Mount St. Mary's University sheds some light on why people don't use guns in self-defense very often. As it turns out, knowing when and how to apply lethal force in a potentially life-or-death situation is really difficult. The study was commissioned by the National Gun Victims Action Council, an advocacy group devoted to enacting "sensible gun laws" that "find common ground between legal gun owners and non-gun owners that minimizes gun violence in our culture."
The study found that proper training and education are key to successfully using a firearm in self-defense: "carrying a gun in public does not provide self-defense unless the carrier is properly trained and maintains their skill level," the authors wrote in a statement.
I think this study only reinforces what should be an obvious recognition that guns are not a magical charm which provides protection simply by having it in your possession.
I would further argue that even trips to the shooting range will not adequately prepare a person to use a gun in a real life situation where they are frightened and under duress.
As we have seen even police officers quite often miss their target when firing at an assailant, fail to access their guns when needed, and panic when fired upon.
Once again in my opinion guns are one of the worst things to rely on for personal protection.
New study reveals that simply having a gun does NOT make you safer.
10:14 AM
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