Edgar Suter writes:
Dr. Kellermann's subsequent research "finding" that a gun in the home
increases risk used a method that cannot distinguish between "cause" and
"effect." Kellermann's illogical conclusion would be like finding more
insulin in the homes of diabetics and so concluding that insulin "causes"
diabetes. Interestingly Kellermann's own data show that when a homeowner is
killed only rarely is the "gun in the home" the instrument of the homeowner's
death.
Untrue. See table 1 of the paper.
How then can the gun "cause" the death? Does the gun magnetize
murderers to the homeowner's doorstep? Does the gun emit magic rays that
cloud the mind of otherwise good people? Of course not.
Amusing speculation, but these bear no relation whatsoever to the actual
content of the paper
If we put
Kellermann's research in context with all the other scientific evidence, all
we can conclude is that fear of crime causes people in high-risk areas to buy
guns for protection -- hardly a momentous finding.
The study found that gun ownership was associated with a higher risk
of gun homicide and was not associated with a higher risk of homicide
by other means. This is inconsistent with your explanation unless you
believe that people don't think that guns will protect them against
assailants who don't have guns.
Even the National Crime
Victimization Survey, one of the studies most cited by the anti-self-defense
lobby, shows that guns are the safest and most effective means of protection
- safer than not resisting or resisting with less powerful means. All this
explains why the 28 states that allow law-abiding, mentally-competent adults
to protect themselves outside the home with concealed handguns have lower
rates of crime for every category of crime indexed by the FBI.
You have apparently found the method for distinguishing between cause
and effect that eluded Dr Kellermann. Can you tell us how you were
able to eliminate the possibility that injured crime victims may find
it more difficult to resist? Or the possibility that high crime rates
might cause states to enact controls on handgun carry?