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mikehaas
07-15-2007, 09:50 AM
(Many here have probably already seen my Life/Death Clock. but we've just added an "enhanced" page at http://AmmoGuide.com/ to further explain the program, how it came to be and why we believe it is a valuable addition to any debate regarding gun ownership. We believe that, with a Democrat-controlled Congress combined with the possibility of a Democrat President in 2008, the debate needs as many "truth injections" as can be arranged. Enjoy. -Mike)
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"I was engaged in a 'gun control' discussion with someone who, as so often occurs, had no experience with guns, but had largely fallen victim to the distorted messages that flood us from Hollywood and the anti-gun lobby. To try to add some perspective to our debate, I asked if he knew, ballpark, just how many deaths occur by gunshot in the US annually. His answer: "I'm sure it must be, what, MILLIONS..." Thus was born the Life/Death Clock. The goal of the Life/Death Clock is to to add real perspective to the discussion of the social costs/benefits of gun ownership in America..."
-- Mike Haas, AmmoGuide and Life/Death Clock author

Has something like that ever happened to you? Or do you simply avoid such discussions because, well, we all have better things to do than talk to brick walls, right? Well, it's time to take a look at the "Life/Death Clock".

http://ammoguide.com/gfx/web/lifeclock147x99.jpg (http://ammoguide.com/?article=lifeclock0707)

Now, we know statistics can be twisted to virtually any result one desires. But Mike personally searched the web's most universally-accepted sources to derive the basis for the Life/Death Clock's calculations. And he transposed exactly what he found into this revealing tool. It's all there, laid out - you will be the judge.

http://ammoguide.com/?article=lifeclock0707
(This "EZ-Link" provides instant access to the Life/Death Clock article, no login required.)

CalNRA
07-15-2007, 12:18 PM
wow Mike, that title sounded a little morbid, I thought the Bradies put out a hit on your head...

gunrun45
07-15-2007, 07:46 PM
Sweet. I forgot all about this thing.

M. Sage
07-15-2007, 07:50 PM
Thanks for reminding us of it! It's an interesting tool to use.

biff
07-15-2007, 08:45 PM
Wow Mike! That's pretty cool! I'll have to point people there next time I talk about "gun control".

That's a cool site too! I've really been wanting to get into reloading and that's a great resource. (I signed up btw).

Dr. Peter Venkman
07-15-2007, 09:05 PM
Is there an HTML code I could use to put it up on a website page?

mikehaas
07-16-2007, 06:36 AM
Is there an HTML code I could use to put it up on a website page?
Thanks all for the comments, and thanks too for asking - it seems others would like to 'embed' the Life/Death Clock in their pages too. Thinking about how to best do that.

Stuff I have done that can be embedded into your webpage:

http://calnra.com/importlegs.shtml

http://ammoguide.com/?article=importag0510

Enjoy!

Mike

Cpl_Peters
07-16-2007, 10:03 AM
its not showing up for me?

sierratangofoxtrotunion
07-16-2007, 02:45 PM
This clock shows firearm homicides. Is there data available for ALL deaths relating to firearms? Stupid reloading accidents, suicide by cop, accidental discharge, etc? I've got a guy I know who believes that the mere presence of a gun in his vicinity makes it more dangerous. In a sense, of course it does. But he overlooked the danger of getting in the car and driving to work this morning.

EDIT: I found the answer myself.
http://calnra.com/lifeclock/homicide.shtml
Go to the link, under "What was the intent or manner of the injury?" select "All Intents"
Under "What was the cause or mechanism of the injury?" select "Firearm"
Result: 30,242.

Mike: Using the same CDC website and checking for "Overall Motor Vehicle Deaths" I come up with 45,579, more than double the number on the clock.

mikehaas
07-17-2007, 03:44 AM
This clock shows firearm homicides. Is there data available for ALL deaths relating to firearms? Stupid reloading accidents, suicide by cop, accidental discharge, etc? I've got a guy I know who believes that the mere presence of a gun in his vicinity makes it more dangerous. In a sense, of course it does. But he overlooked the danger of getting in the car and driving to work this morning.

EDIT: I found the answer myself.
http://calnra.com/lifeclock/homicide.shtml
Go to the link, under "What was the intent or manner of the injury?" select "All Intents"
Under "What was the cause or mechanism of the injury?" select "Firearm"
Result: 30,242.

Mike: Using the same CDC website and checking for "Overall Motor Vehicle Deaths" I come up with 45,579, more than double the number on the clock.
First, I commend you on your ability to use the tools linked to to answer your own question. (Interesting government site, eh?)

Second, so we have some more "adjusting" to do, eh? I'll take a look at the traffic deaths issue and thanks MUCH for pointing it out. Of course, we could go crazy trying to dial the clock in, but if this is a valid, significant value change, it should be incorporated.

I've also thought of adding a new category to the "deaths" section - "Firearm Accidents", which would be around 1000-1500/year - would be the the lowest death rate to be displayed. Have to find a credible source other than NRA though. We know NRA is very credible, but too many antis would just attack the clock as "biased". There's enough of that just because it's hosted at the calnra website. That's why I tried to stick with independant and government agency data.

Mike