WashPo analysis of guns used to kill LEOs 2000-2010

[trashman]

...I'm not sure it's statistically significant in, uh, in the way that the authors intended, but the Washington Post, as part of their "Hidden Life of Guns" series, did some analysis on the source of guns used to kill 511 LEOs between 2000 and 2010.

(The WashPo series is primarily a shill against the Tiahrt Amendment)

So, of the 511 deaths, the analysis was able to trace the guns in 341 deaths. Of the 341:

• 107 guns were legally obtained
• 77 guns were stolen
• 51 were police guns
• 46 borrowed or stolen from relatives
• 41 "obtained on the street"
• 16 were straw purchases
• 3 were illegal purchase from a gun show or seller

A couple of other interesting numbers:

• 200 of the shooters were felons
  • 45 were on probation or parole
  • 4 had been previously convicted of murder or manslaughter
  
  
• Most common weapon was "a 9mm handgun" - 85 of 341

...So much for the gun show loophole "problem"! The Post's distinction between "illegal purchases from a gun show or seller" and "obtained on the street" is curious -- but it clearly reflects earlier studies/interviews with felons that they do not obtain guns from gunshows.

So all of this is interesting -- but to put the numbers in perspective, compare it to totals of:

• NICS checks 200-2010 (minus denials from 1998) 2000-2010: 110,773,737
• Guns manufactured (excluding exports): 34,851,513

...sorts shows the true scope of the problem, doesn't it?

--Neill


Source material:

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/Denials.pdf

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/TotalNICSBackgroundChecks.pdf

http://www.atf.gov/statistics/

[tankarian]

So there is no "gun show loophole" issue after all.
Looks to me like it's more of a gun hating liberal politician a-hole issue.

[CaliforniaLiberal]

Excellent post!

And these are numbers for all the United States from 2000 to 2010 - Correct?

Wow. The actual numbers certainly present a different perspective than that intended by the authors. To me this is a resounding affirmation of the responsibility and safety of millions of law abiding American gun owners.


Here's a bit more I found listing the causes of deaths of police officers so far in 2010.

http://www.odmp.org/year.php

Total Line of Duty Deaths: 146
Accidental: 1
Aircraft accident: 2
Assault: 4
Automobile accident: 42
Boating accident: 1
Drowned: 2
Fall: 2
Gunfire: 50
Gunfire (Accidental): 2
Heart attack: 12
Motorcycle accident: 4
Struck by train: 1
Struck by vehicle: 5
Training accident: 1
Vehicle pursuit: 4
Vehicular assault: 13

[trashman]

And these are numbers for all the United States from 2000 to 2010 - Correct?

Correct.

Here's a bit more I found listing the causes of deaths of police officers so far in 2010.

[...]

Total Line of Duty Deaths: 146
Automobile accident: 42
Gunfire: 50
Gunfire (Accidental): 2
Motorcycle accident: 4
Vehicle pursuit: 4

...yup - which pretty much mirrors the death stats for firearms vs. cars in the general population.

--Neill

[uyoga]

......sorts shows the true scope of the problem, doesn't it?

Good job, trashman, these antis and their repressive agenda are now grasping at straws in order to further their goal of total disarmament of the law abiding citizenry.

It is through logical truth, such as you have so aptly provided, that we will win the battle for public opinion.

[J-cat]

How many police officers were killed by so called assault weapons vs so called sporting weapons.

[RRangel]

Real crime stats and reality show a different picture than what the gun prohibitionists claim. No surprises there and that's why they make their own. On a similar note the BATFE trace stats that we read about come with a warning from BATFE that they shouldn't be used in the manner that the Brady Campaign and friends do. Because traces are not relevant to actual crime. Yet the dishonest antis try to equate them as one and the same.

[thebronze]

Big shocker that a Lib newspaper would try to twist its own findings into being something that doesn't comport with the facts.

So much for the "gun-show loophole" and "assault weapons" fallacy...


Q: How do you know when a Lib's lying?
A: His lips are moving.

[Ford8N]

How many police officers were killed by so called assault weapons vs so called sporting weapons.

Probably next to zero. I think all crime attributed to AW's is around 1%. By far most crime is committed by scumbags using handguns.

http://www.firearmsid.com/Feature%20Articles/0900GUIC/Guns%20Used%20in%20Crime.htm

[J-cat]

Why is it that everytime we infringe on the rights of insects we need to do million dollar environmental impact studies, but firearm legislation is passed on the whims of our representatives without any consideration to the actual facts?

[Cokebottle]

Of the 341:

• 107 guns were legally obtained
• 46 borrowed or stolen from relatives
• 200 of the shooters were felons

Interesting.
So of the 141 shooters who were not previously felons, it is entirely possible that 100% of those guns were obtained legally, since we have 107 definitely legal, and another 46 that were a mixture of what could have included legal loans.

[CHS]

Only 511 deaths in 10 years?

Clearly we're doing something right. Those are extremely low numbers. I don't see an epidemic of mass proportions here, nor do I see any need or reason to enact stricter gun control.

[trashman]

Only 511 deaths in 10 years?

Clearly we're doing something right. Those are extremely low numbers. I don't see an epidemic of mass proportions here, nor do I see any need or reason to enact stricter gun control.

What I do see a reason for is comparing the number of accidental gun LEO deaths over that same period. Funny the Post doesn't address that...

--Neill

[GrizzlyGuy]

Here's a bit more I found listing the causes of deaths of police officers so far in 2010.

And in 2009, there were 108 LEO deaths and 45 of them were due to homicide (from table 3 here).

Consider also that LEOs have a relatively safe job, they don't even make the top 10 list for most dangerous occupations. For example, in 2009 a grounds maintenance worker, automobile repairman or a sales manager were more likely to be killed on the job than a LEO (data again from table 3 in the government's report). If you are a construction worker, then you were 7x more likely to die on the job than a LEO.

The argument that more gun control laws are needed in the interest of officer safety is a non-starter.

[trashman]

TheTruthAboutGuns has a piece on the WashPo series:

http://thetruthaboutguns.com/2010/11/robert-farago/washington-post-more-cops-killed-by-their-own-gun-than-straw-purchases/