Gun Control
denialism | January 30, 2013Go by and check out Matt's second response on gun control.
I think this response is a good argument. After all, my arguments are correlative. It is impossible to do randomized controlled trials on whole countries after all.
I would ask a few questions in response to this rebuttal, however. Matt, what do you think about about data that demonstrates, within our own country, higher gun prevalence correlates with higher homicide, independent of other risk factors? Can we really dismiss the potential impact of federal gun laws using local gun laws as an example? Its pretty clear from…
denialism | January 17, 2013I was curious to see what kind of defense Matt would put on against my suggestion of additional regulations to address the problem of gun violence and homicide in the US, and I was a bit disappointed to see that the response is largely a "no problem" argument. I had actually come into this debate thinking that both of us at least acknowledge that the US has a problem with gun homicide, but it appears as though I'll have to backtrack a bit. So, starting with the "no problem" argument, I will describe why it is bogus, why the US does have a problem with firearm homicides (I can't believe that…
denialism | January 16, 2013Matt has posted his first response in the gun control debate, expect my rejoinder by Thursday or Friday after we have time to process the President's announcement this morning on gun control.
denialism | January 9, 2013Given that Matt and I are both gun enthusiasts, scientists, and bloggers, and we're both interested in something being done to prevent mass shootings such as in Newtown, Aurora, and almost one dozen other locations in just the last few years, we decided to host a more formal debate on the issue. I'm taking the side of a more stringent policy specifically on certain types of firearms that I don't believe should be freely-available to citizens, that is, magazine-fed semi-automatic handguns and rifles. This doesn't mean I believe in a ban, but simply more barriers to purchase, and simple safety…