September 21, 2004
MEANWHILE, EVER TRY KILLING A DEER WITH YOUR FIST?:
THE TRUTH ABOUT RIFLE STATISTICS (FREDRIC U. DICKER, September 20, 2004, NY Post)
NEW YORKERS are at least four times as likely to be punched to death than to be killed with an assault-style rifle, unpublished state crime statistics show.Posted by Orrin Judd at September 21, 2004 7:46 PMThe eye-opening figures — obtained by The Post from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services — reveal that New Yorkers are also at least twice as likely to be clubbed to death than shot dead by an attacker wielding one of the semi-automatic rifles previously covered by a federal government ban that expired last week.
The most recent statewide statistics — murder-by-weapon-type figures from 2002 — also show that New Yorkers are at least five times as likely to be stabbed to death with a knife than they are to be shot with an assault rifle.
Of 893 murders committed two years ago, just 22 — or slightly over 2 percent — were carried out using some form of rifle, including assault-rifles, the figures show.
I've read about two separate cases of people getting bludgeoned to death with fish, in one case a frozen fish.
While assault rifles are apparently little used in crime, the only reason for owning one, or a snub-nose .38, is to kill humans.
Although both can be used for other purposes, for anything not involving a human target, other types and styles of firearms are better.
Michael:
When some of the most dangerous predators around are human, it only makes sense to have appropriate weapons.
I think deer, having rather smaller brains than men, are less vulnerable to death by concussion.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at September 22, 2004 1:21 AM1) The Post story doesn't say that there were 22 killings with AR's, only that the were that many with rifles of all types, including AR's. Since we know that AR's are a tiny proportion of the set of rifes in civilian hands, it would hold that the true number of AR killings is rather less that 22.
2) No, I have n~~~~ killed a deer with my bare hands, but I killed a woodchuck with a rifle butt once. Does that count?
Posted by: Lou Gots at September 22, 2004 4:12 AMLou -- Any idea why, when you (and I think only you) type "ever", the letters are replaced by tildes?
Posted by: David Cohen at September 22, 2004 9:49 AMSo that's why Muslims cut off the hands of criminals!
Posted by: Joseph Hertzlinger at September 22, 2004 12:27 PM