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A Deceptive Contrivance

A Deceptive Contrivance Abstract To the Editor. —Menken correctly observed that "There are more than 20 000 laws in the United States that deal with the sale, distribution, and use of firearms, without convincing evidence of effectiveness."1 Unfortunately, he followed that observation by incorrectly stating that guns are rarely used in self-protection. Citing Kassirer's editorial2 published in the New England Journal of Medicine as his authority, Menken also repeated the familiar fallacy that guns are 40 times more likely to kill the homeowner than a criminal.To understand the fallacies, one must understand their lineage. Kassirer's editorial cited Kellerman and Reay3 as authority for the purported risk-benefit ratio. That article was fatally flawed in its prejudicially truncated data and its non-sequitur logic. That article has had sufficient post mortems4,5 such that, if the subject were anything other than gun prohibition, it would have been laid to rest and never resurrected. References 1. Menken M. Grappling with the enigma of violence: an educational approach . Arch Neurol . 1992;49:592-594.Crossref 2. Kassirer JP. Firearms and the killing threshold . N Engl J Med . 1991;325:1647-1649.Crossref 3. Kellerman AL, Reay DT. Protection or peril?: an analysis of firearms-related deaths in the home . N Engl J Med . 1986;314:1557-1560.Crossref 4. Stolinsky DC, Hagen GT. Firearms-related deaths . N Engl J Med . 1986;315:1483-1485.Crossref 5. Kleck G. An exercise in ingenious speciousness . In: Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America . Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter; 1991:127-129. 6. Rushforth NB, Hirsch CS, Ford AB, Adelson L. Accidental firearm fatalities in a metropolitan county (1958-74) . Am J Epidemiol . 1975;100: 499-505. 7. Bruce-Biggs B. The great American gun war . The Public Interest . 1976;45:37-62. 8. Wright JD, Rossi PH. Weapons, Crime, and Violence in America: Executive Summary . Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice, National Institute of Justice; 1981. 9. Cambridge Reports Inc. An analysis of public attitudes towards handgun control: a survey for the Center for the Study and Prevention of Handgun Violence (an organization sharing directors with Handgun Control Inc). Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge Reports; 1978. 10. New York City Police Department and National Alliance Against Violence. Manual for Public Education Campaign on Handgun Violence . New York, NY: National Alliance Against Violence; 1983:19. 11. Wright JD, Rossi PH. Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms . Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter; 1986. 12. Kellermann AL, Rivara FP, Somes G, et al. Suicide in the home in relationship to gun ownership . N Engl J Med . 1992;327:467-472.Crossref 13. Kellermann AL, Mercy JA. Men, women, and murder: gender-specific differences in rates of fatal violence and victimization . J Trauma . 1992;33:1-5.Crossref 14. Sloan JH, Kellermann AL, Reay DT, et al. Handgun regulations, crime, and homicide: a tale of two cities . N Engl J Med . 1988;319:1256-1262.Crossref http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of Neurology American Medical Association

A Deceptive Contrivance

Archives of Neurology , Volume 50 (4) – Apr 1, 1993

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References (17)

Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0003-9942
eISSN
1538-3687
DOI
10.1001/archneur.1993.00540040007004
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract To the Editor. —Menken correctly observed that "There are more than 20 000 laws in the United States that deal with the sale, distribution, and use of firearms, without convincing evidence of effectiveness."1 Unfortunately, he followed that observation by incorrectly stating that guns are rarely used in self-protection. Citing Kassirer's editorial2 published in the New England Journal of Medicine as his authority, Menken also repeated the familiar fallacy that guns are 40 times more likely to kill the homeowner than a criminal.To understand the fallacies, one must understand their lineage. Kassirer's editorial cited Kellerman and Reay3 as authority for the purported risk-benefit ratio. That article was fatally flawed in its prejudicially truncated data and its non-sequitur logic. That article has had sufficient post mortems4,5 such that, if the subject were anything other than gun prohibition, it would have been laid to rest and never resurrected. References 1. Menken M. Grappling with the enigma of violence: an educational approach . Arch Neurol . 1992;49:592-594.Crossref 2. Kassirer JP. Firearms and the killing threshold . N Engl J Med . 1991;325:1647-1649.Crossref 3. Kellerman AL, Reay DT. Protection or peril?: an analysis of firearms-related deaths in the home . N Engl J Med . 1986;314:1557-1560.Crossref 4. Stolinsky DC, Hagen GT. Firearms-related deaths . N Engl J Med . 1986;315:1483-1485.Crossref 5. Kleck G. An exercise in ingenious speciousness . In: Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America . Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter; 1991:127-129. 6. Rushforth NB, Hirsch CS, Ford AB, Adelson L. Accidental firearm fatalities in a metropolitan county (1958-74) . Am J Epidemiol . 1975;100: 499-505. 7. Bruce-Biggs B. The great American gun war . The Public Interest . 1976;45:37-62. 8. Wright JD, Rossi PH. Weapons, Crime, and Violence in America: Executive Summary . Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice, National Institute of Justice; 1981. 9. Cambridge Reports Inc. An analysis of public attitudes towards handgun control: a survey for the Center for the Study and Prevention of Handgun Violence (an organization sharing directors with Handgun Control Inc). Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge Reports; 1978. 10. New York City Police Department and National Alliance Against Violence. Manual for Public Education Campaign on Handgun Violence . New York, NY: National Alliance Against Violence; 1983:19. 11. Wright JD, Rossi PH. Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms . Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter; 1986. 12. Kellermann AL, Rivara FP, Somes G, et al. Suicide in the home in relationship to gun ownership . N Engl J Med . 1992;327:467-472.Crossref 13. Kellermann AL, Mercy JA. Men, women, and murder: gender-specific differences in rates of fatal violence and victimization . J Trauma . 1992;33:1-5.Crossref 14. Sloan JH, Kellermann AL, Reay DT, et al. Handgun regulations, crime, and homicide: a tale of two cities . N Engl J Med . 1988;319:1256-1262.Crossref

Journal

Archives of NeurologyAmerican Medical Association

Published: Apr 1, 1993

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