Letter to the editor: Your bias will determine the conclusion

Posted

With all the discussions on gun ownership, gun deaths, and constitutional rights, simple facts get buried under an avalanche of rhetoric, media hype and social network misinformation. Here are a few facts:  

Most gun death are small arms suicides.  

The five states with highest per capita gun deaths are Republican.  

The five cities with the highest per capita gun deaths are Democrat.  

States with the highest per capita gun ownership have the highest per capita gun deaths.   

States with the least restrictions on gun ownership have the highest per capita gun deaths.  

The decade after the 1994 assault weapons ban saw a decrease in massacres of six or more people. 



The decade after the expiration of the ban saw an increase in massacres of six or more people.     

Facts are, of course, subject to interpretation. Your bias will determine the conclusion you draw from these facts. We, Democrats and Republicans, are so skilled at manipulating the facts to support our agenda that we fool even ourselves.   

Bruce McClay, 

Battle Ground