By BRANDON ROSS
Cronkite News Service
Cronkite News Service
WASHINGTON – More Arizonans were killed by guns in 2009 than in
motor-vehicle incidents, evidence of the need for stricter gun laws,
according to a report released this week.
The report by
the Violence Policy Center said Arizona was one of 10 states where
firearm deaths outstripped traffic deaths in 2009, the most recent year
for which numbers were available.
“Arizona needs to start looking seriously at the fact that it has a
major gun-violence problem,” said Kristen Rand, legislative director for
the center.
But an Arizona lawmaker who supports gun rights criticized the
report’s “apple-and-oranges” comparison that he said was simply designed
to influence firearms legislation.
State Sen. Frank Antenori, R-Vail, said it is unfair to compare
gun-related deaths to motor-vehicle deaths because most gun deaths are
not accidental.
“Do you use a car in self-defense?” Antenori asked hypothetically.
The report, released Tuesday, said traffic deaths fell 43 percent
between 1966 and 2000 because of “the combined efforts of government and
advocacy organizations.” It argued that gun deaths would also fall if
firearms were subject to federal health and safety regulations like
other consumer goods.
“The historic drop in motor-vehicle deaths illustrates how health and
safety regulation can reduce deaths and injuries that were at one time
thought to be unavoidable,” it said.
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,
cited speed limits, licensing of drivers and laws against drinking and
driving as examples of government regulations that make it safer to use a
motor vehicle.
“When you can have reasonable oversight of something and reasonable
safety regulations you can prevent bad things from happening,” Gross
said.
While traffic deaths have fallen nationwide, gun deaths have been
largely unchanged. If the trend continues, the report said, firearm
fatalities could exceed motor vehicle deaths nationally unless there is
further federal regulation.
“The bottom line is, can gun deaths be prevented in the same way that
automobiles have been?” asked Gross. “Yes. Sensible policies and
industry regulations have made cars safer.”
Antenori said it was consumer demand, not government regulation, that
has made automobiles safer over time. A gun is “only as safe as the
individual that uses it,” Antenori said.
He ridiculed the findings as a “study designed to influence policy for an agenda” – tighter regulations on firearms.
But Rand said the report points to a real problem. Given the uses of
cars and guns, and the face that people encounter cars far more often,
it makes it “more remarkable” that Arizona gun deaths outpace
motor-vehicle deaths.
“Arizona is going in the absolute wrong direction,” she said, pointing to recent laws loosening restrictions on guns.
Top Guns
10 states where firearm deaths exceeded motor-vehicle deaths in 2009
- Alaska: 104 gun deaths, 84 traffic deaths
- Arizona: 856 to 809
- Colorado: 583 to 565
- Indiana: 735 to 715
- Michigan: 1095 to 977
- Nevada: 406 to 255
- Oregon: 417 to 394
- Utah: 260 to 256
- Virginia: 836 to 827
- Washington: 623 to 580
2 comments:
Soooo, your solution to drug cartel and illegals shooting at each other, kidnappings by illegals and cartels, and general drug violence by those that use drugs/sell them and fight over them is to....
Punish someone who had nothing to do with it. Disarm the victims, and leave them defenseless against the violence.
Violence policy center, is your policy to create more violence? From your disasters in Chicago and DC, it would appear so.
What a ridiculous story. I expect gun deaths also exceed deaths from chickenpox, snakebite, and rollerskating accidents. What's the point? Traffic deaths are DOWN. The reasons traffic deaths are down have nothing to do with gun deaths. I daresay most of the people killed by guns probably deserved it. A few were innocent victims of gun accidents. Some were murder victims.
There is no point to this story, just more anti-gun propaganda.
What's sad is that the writer thinks we're too stupid to realize that.
Joke's on him.
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