Misuse of gun stats does a disservice

A Jan. 27 letter is a new low in the fear-mongering agenda of gun-rights advocates. The citations of gun control measures and consequent genocides prove nothing. It has merely shown a correlation – and a weak one at that – not causality.

The writer lists six incidents of 20th century genocides and would have us believe gun control is to blame. (To be fair, the chart the writer has copied his information from actually lists nine incidents.)

Consider all the past and present governments in the 20th century, worldwide, and assume that they surely all have or had at least some form of gun control, there are less than 10 incidents. That’s a pretty weak correlation.

The 56 million innocents cited in the letter are victims of unspeakable tragedies, but don’t blame gun control. Let’s have a common-sense dialogue on violence in our society and the role of guns. This hysteria is a disservice to those who advocate responsible gun ownership.

Michael A. Rugh

Lake in the Hills