The good old National Rifle Association (NRA) is ever so fond of claiming that guns don’t kill as many people on an annual basis as automobiles do, and yet no one calls for car control. It’s a neat little argument, and it has now become total and undeniable bullshit.
On Thursday, it was reported that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had just released data showing that for the first time ever, cars and guns are killing people at an “identical rate.”
I think I can hear the collective butts of ammosexuals everywhere puckering up when they read the line above.
The CDC report states:
“In 2014, the age-adjusted death rate for both firearms (including homicides, suicides and accidental deaths) and motor vehicle events (car crashes, collisions between cars and pedestrians, etc) stood at 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people.”
Why might this be so? Well, because the total number of automobile deaths has been cut in half since 1950, but the number of Americans killed by guns steadily risen for that same time period. Here’s a chart for the gun fanatics in the audience who will no doubt shriek that they demand more proof:
In 2005, gun deaths actually surpassed vehicle deaths in two states. And in 2014, that number rose to 21. It may well be the case in nearly all 50 states when 2024 dawns. Check this out:
More Data The NRA Is Gonna Hate
The decrease in the number of deaths from cars is easy to explain: Regulations and laws regarding automobiles have gotten tougher in response to the large amount of highway deaths. The safety of cars has improved. Seat belt laws have become mandatory. Speed limits have decreased in many states.
But what can we say about the increase in gun deaths? The Ted Nugent contingency of the gun-totin’ American right to bear arms crowd always blathers about how there are too many gun laws. Which is also a steaming pile of horse dung:
“Restrictions passed in earlier eras, such as the assault weapons ban, have been undone recently. During the George W. Bush administration, Congress passed laws that prohibited law enforcement from publicizing data showing where criminals obtained their guns and granted gunmakers immunity from some civil lawsuits.”
Here Comes The Hate Mail…BRING IT!
Now I can already hear the gun nuts firing off their emails and comments on Twitter and Facebook accusing me of wanting to take away their Second Amendment right to bear arms. Which is not the least bit accurate.
As I have said on several occasions, I personally believe that every gun in this country should have to be registered–kinda like cars–and that every gun owner of any kind of weapon (shotguns, rifles, handguns, etc.) should be required to pass a driver’s ed type course and carry a license along with their gun. Again, just like with a car.
So send the hate mail, send the bile and the venomous invective my way. I welcome it. With every word of hate you pour out, you only serve to prove my point.
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.