Subject: Re: Reminder - You are your own first responder
I think it is reasonable to assume the vast vast very vast majority of gun deaths result from the activities of criminals, crazy people, and careless gun owners.

Not really. At least, not in the U.S.

The majority of gun deaths are suicides. Most of those folks aren't "crazy people" (though perhaps some are). They're mostly people who are suffering deep despondency, despair, perhaps long-term depression, or who view suicide as a means of escaping some terrible thing in their life. Not crazy - and many could likely be saved if they didn't have access to a firearm.

A very substantial proportion of homicides are instances of domestic violence. These are, of course, criminals - but not people who are criminals by profession and/or are using firearms as an instrument for the purpose of committing some other crime. Data are spotty - but there's evidence that the majority of people who commit a homicide have not previously been convicted of a felony:

https://jamanetwork.com/journa...

You run into a bit of a "true Scotsman" issue with this formulation, though - if we simply define every person who uses a firearm to kill someone (that isn't classified a justifiable homicide) as being a "criminal," then by definition every intentional gun death is committed by a criminal. That doesn't mean those folks were criminals before they engaged in the activity that resulted in the homicide, though - so you couldn't prevent all those deaths by preventing people who were previously criminals from accessing guns.

I don't claim to have the complete answer but I feel that mental health intervention, early interdiction of criminal behavior, and red flag laws are part of the solution. Disaffected youth and hopelessness among the inner city poor are better issues to focus on rather than how many guns I am allowed to possess. But counting my gun is easy and dealing with underlying societal issues is hard. My two cents. Flame away.


No flaming at all - this is a civil conversation! But I think you're overlooking how important "easy" versus "hard" is. That's a very relevant criterion in forming good policy! If there's an easy way to save lives, and a hard way to save lives, that's a point in favor of the former policy.

It's really hard to eliminate crime. Or even murder. No society has ever done it. But there do exist societies that have managed to all-but-eliminate private civilian ownership of firearms. Of course, in the U.S. that wouldn't be "easy" either.