earch. The first data set is used to analyze whether assaults result in attacks on victims and if any injury is a result of this attack. The second data set is used to analyze whether injuries result in the deaths of victims (Kleck, 678). Using this advanced study method Kleck and Mcelrath had interesting results. It seems that the presence of deadly weaponry in threatening situations reduces the probability of attack by the possessors of the weapons. This is significant for handguns and other firearms such as shotguns and rifles. The second finding is that the apparent effect of the presence of less lethal weapons increases the probability of attack. By other weapons, Kleck means instruments such as knives, blunt objects and broken glass bottles. Thus the findings are, as lethality of weapons present increases, the probability of attack decreases which can be seen in figure 1 (Kleck, 682). The conclusion to the Kleck and Mcelrath study is that their findings support a more complex outline of the significance of firearms in America today. They found that the possession of guns appear both to inhibit attack and, in the case of attack, to help reduce the probability of injury, however, it also increases the probability of death in the case of an injury. In other words, the positive effect of guns on death was larger than their negative effects on attack and injury. Another study that deals with firearms was conducted by David McDowall, Brain Miersema and Colin Loftin. These scholars investigated an ordinance that was passed on March 15, 1982 in the town of Kennesaw, Georgia. This ordinance required households to maintain a firearm and supply ammunition (McDowall, 48). This ordinance was put into place to try to deter potential offenders, however it did not work. Conclusions of this study show that the gun ordinance did not deter burglaries within the city. It is not conceivable that other area studies will show a relationship between in...
