Media inflating number and telling lies as we speak, again.

Does anyone ever think to themselves  “what the hell does, the media think we’re all stupid?” It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to research their supposed “evidence” and prove them wrong with it. I saw on yahoo.com an article by Michael H. Fuchs. Mr. Fuchs is a reporter for “The Guardian,” which is a British daily newspaper. The article is titled “The American Right Wing is Enabling a Dual Crisis:Gun Violence and White Supremacy.” I am only going to deal with the firearms side of this article. The link for this article is: The Guardian Article by Michael Fuchs.

What truly amazes me is the fact that this man spews this rhetoric and then has the audacity to promote it as the truth. He states,  “ask just about any expert, law enforcement official, or national security professional who is focused on the issue and they will tell you that commonsense gun-violence-prevention legislation can significantly reduce gun violence. A glance at other countries with stricter gun laws and virtually no gun violence confirms this fact. And yet, the right wing is not only opposed to these laws that would save lives – it has been working for years to make it easier for Americans to obtain assault weapons.” Our response to this is very simple and clear. Common Sense gun laws do not significantly reduce gun violence, sir. If you do not believe this all you have to do is take a look at Chicago. Chicago, as most people know, has one of the most, if not the most restrictive gun laws in the entire country, and yet Chicago tends to be right at the top of the list of cities that have the most gun violence and usually one of the highest homicide rates. So please tell me how common sense gun laws keep guns out of the hands of criminals who do not follow your common sense gun laws. The only people that common sense gun laws takes guns away from are those who follow those laws, the hard working responsible gun owner.The only way to cure the world of a bad guy with a firearm, is a good guy with a firearm.

Mr. Fuchs further states that “while guns kill tens of thousands every year, white nationalists are using them more and more to carry out their terrorist attacks.” Again sir, I suggest that you check your facts. First of all, before you speak about statistics, you should check the last Uniform Crime Report , which was published in 2017, of the 15,000 or so homicides reported, 10,982 involved a firearm, not tens of thousands  homicides. This number also represents all firearms, not just one type. And we must also point out that the homicide rate by firearm for 2017 was less than it was in 2016. Should you like to verify these numbers, we have provided a link and instructions to find the numbers. The link for this information is: 2017 FBI Uniform Crime Report. Once on the website, click on Expanded Offense Data, Homicide. Once the page has loaded, scroll down to the Expanded Homicide Data Tables and click on Weapons: Expanded Homicide Tables Number 8 (Murder by weapon, 2013-2017) and Expanded Homicide Tables Number 11 (Murder Circumstances by Weapon 2017.) The total number of homicides for 2017 by firearm was 10,982, not Mr. Fuchs number.

Mr. Fuchs further states in the beginning of his article, “Gun violence is the deadliest violent threat facing America today. The Centers for Disease Control recorded 39,773 deaths by firearm in 2017.” Well, why don’t we explore this report also. For those who would like to also research what he is talking about, the link is: National Vital Statistic Reports. Once on the website, scroll down to heading the mortality heading. Under the sub heading Firearms, click on the link: Deaths: Final Data for 2017, table 11 pdf icon. Now Mr. Fuchs states that there were 39,773 deaths by firearm in 2017, according to the Center for Disease Control’s National Vital Statistics Report for 2017. If you scroll down to Table Number 8, Page 42: Number of Deaths from Selected Causes. Halfway down the page you will see accidental discharge of firearms is listed as 486. Scrolling further down the same page one sees: Intentional self-harm(suicide) by discharge of firearms is listed as 23,854. If you scroll down the next page, Page 43, still under Table Number 8: Number of Deaths from Selected Causes. If you draw your attention to the second category on the table: Assault (homicide) by discharge of firearms is listed as 14,542. This number is much closer to the Uniform Crime Report for 2017 than the number you quoted earlier in this paragraph.

Now my question to Mr. Fuchs is why would you misrepresent the listed numbers, which clearly the number you have chosen is to gain shock factor from your readers is evidently inflated by especially the category of Intentional self-harm(suicide) which inflates the number that you stated by more than 23,850. If you are going to compare statistics, please have the morality to not inflate your numbers to make your case. If you are going to talk about numbers, then use the correct numbers. Do not try to compare apples and oranges, especially when it is clearly so easy to go back and check your facts. This is the problem in this country today, everyone wants to have everything their way, they want to look smart, so they lie and use statistics to bolster their own self worth. As a reporter, I would like to assume that you would not distort the truth to reach your own ends. If you are what this country looks to for leadership, then we really are in a lot more trouble than most realize.