their homes. A gun in the home is 43 times more likely to kill a household member or friend rather than an intruder or criminal – like a robber. Using a firearm to resist a violent assault can actually increase your risk of injury and death. Does that surprise you now? (gunfree.org) What it really comes down to is that guns give us a false sense of security. Gun manufacturers and lobbyists want us to purchase firearms and have us believe they will protect and defend us. “We are being targeted by an industry that wants us to join the vigilante crowd. Buying a gun, however, is an individual solution, which only helps the gun industry turn [people’s] fears into profits.” Make not also that a gunshot wound costs about 13,000 in health care, 80% of which is paid by the public. The real solution is to organize and fight for domestic disarmament. All people should have the right to be liberated from fear. We are not free when consumers are manipulated by profit-motivated industries. In the New England Journal of Medicine, an important study of 743 gunshot deaths done by Dr. Arthur Kellermann and Dr. Donald Reay, found that 398 of these deaths had taken place in a home where the handgun was kept. It was not a criminal stranger who shot them, but instead family or relatives, spouses, roommates, or themselves. Altercations within the home accounts for 84% of these homicides. Of all 743 gunshot deaths, there were only two that occurred in homes involving intruders killed while attempting to enter, and nine deaths justified through police and court analysis. (95) What really justifies homicide with a firearm? Well, a person can use certainly deadly force to defend their own life or against bodily harm. But, to commit justified homicide, there has to be a strong belief that your life is in jeopardy. You cannot use force with a gun to do something like shoot someone stealing your car. Using a gun must be a last option when al...
