According to the Brady website One in three people in the U.S. know someone who has been shot
and
Nearly one in four American teens have witnessed a shooting.
I call bullshit on both!
Unless they are really strrrrrrrrrretching it (like knowing someone who was in a war, or kids seeing someone shot on TV or the internet) these stats sound like B.S. to me.
Especially since I can’t seem to find their cites for these claims. Can anyone here point me in that direction?
I’d like to see a cite, too, but the first doesn’t sound too unbelievable to me. About 100,000 people get shot per year. Cite. For example, everybody in my family knows at least two people who have gotten shot: both suicides. I know at least two additional people, one a victim of truly random violent crime (just an acquaintance), and another suicide. And there’s probably some I’m forgetting. That doesn’t seem odd to me. In fact, I’m surprised it’s not higher.
I’m a little more :dubious: about the second claim. I guess it depends on how one defines “witnessing a shooting.” (Personally, I’m neither pro- nor anti-gun control. I’m slightly more anti, as I think the US is in a bit of a “can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube” type of situation, but were I starting my own society, I’d be pro-gun control. But that’s outside the range of this topic.)
Seems plausible to me. I can think of several who have been shot but have not witnessed a shooting myself. I heart that at Harper High School in Chicago, 29 kids were shot last year, with 8 deaths. Just to clarify- that’s one high school in one year.
My grandfather was accidently shot and killed while deer hunting. So I’m one of the 3.
Doesn’t answer you question though. Sorry.
Huh- the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence is not about “gun grabbing” at all.
They list their goals as being " to pass, enforce, and protect sensible laws and public policy that address gun violence at the federal and state level. We do this by engaging and activating the American public, electing officials who support common sense gun laws, and increasing public awareness of gun violence. "
Moderator Warning
pkbites, you are well aware that political jabs are not permitted in GQ. Putting such a jab in the title of the thread itself is well over the line. This is an official warning.
Since the well has been poisoned in the title, I’m closing this. You may post another thread with a less inflammatory title.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator