Reply #77: You really should pick up a basic text on social science methodology [View All]

[jgraz]

It would make future conversations go much more smoothly.

The problem with your assertion is the number of factors that feed into the crime rate and the varying definitions used by the researchers. No one agrees on all the causes or even the meaning of the phrase "violent crime". The reason the pro-gun crowd likes to use violent crime statistics is that the conclusions are so nebulous that any position can be (superficially) supported.

When presented with a more direct and straightforward study (e.g. the state-by-state comparison of gun suicides), you really have no answer (other than to cloud the issue with irrelevant and unrelated statistics from other countries).

Setting out to reduce gun deaths is a much more measurable goal. If we successfully reduce the number of semi-automatic weapons in civilian hands and yet gun deaths remain flat, we know that an assault-weapons ban is not useful. If, on the other hand, we reduce the number of handguns in private homes and gun suicides go down, we know this is a successful social initiative.

In either of these cases, throwing out stats on the burglary rate or the number of drug crimes -- especially from other countries -- is useless and only serves to confuse the issue.