In a recent incident in Lyman South Carolina, a man who was firing rounds into a crowd at a club was stopped by someone with a concealed weapons permit.
Jody Thompson, according to WISTV, was in an altercation with another man at around 3:30am at Playoffz nightclub on Inman Road in Lyman. After getting into a heated argument, Thompson pulled a gun a fired several shots into the crowd that had gathered out in front of the club.
Kevin Bobo reported that the gunman’s rounds struck three victims and passed a fourth, who pulled his own weapon out and fired, striking Thompson in the leg. Bobo said that the “initial scene was chaotic” and “it wasn’t until victims and witnesses were interviewed, and a video from the scene was reviewed that Thompson was identified as the suspect”.
Thompson has been charged with four counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and unlawful carrying of a weapon.
The unnamed shooter who had a valid concealed weapons permit is not facing any charges.
A FEW GUN STATISTICS FOR 2015
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 13,286 people killed by US firearms in 2015. Another 26,819 were injured by guns in that same year.
As of 2015, there are over 12.8 million people with concealed carry permits, but there are an estimated 357 million guns in circulation in the US today (It is likely that at least 1% of this gun stock has been destroyed, lost or broken every year as ATF doesn’t account for those statistics.)
THE CASE ON GUN SUPPORT
There have been multiple accounts of concealed permit holders that have actually stopped a possible shooting, and thousands of examples of possible robberies that have been thwarted.
Unfortunately, the alarming case against guns is much stronger.
People are getting shot by toddlers on a weekly basis as of 2015, which statistically makes them involved in more shootings than terrorists in the United States in the past year.
The most recent homicide data from the FBI in 2014, that distributes murder by relationship, found that 43% of homicides are done by someone you know or are related to. Another 45.5% were unknown or unsure of the relationship, and only 11.5% of people were killed by a stranger. 68% of all of these homicides, it is important to note, were by firearms.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
According to the data collected, you are more likely to kill or be killed by a family member with a gun in your household than to be used for self-defense. In fact, for every criminal killed in self-defense, 34 innocent people die.
While yes, there is a statistical possibility that your gun may one day help save your life, it is much more likely that you or your family members will die by it. For some people, that seems to be a chance they’re willing to take.
HOW THE U.S. COMPAREs
You’ve likely heard about how the US firearm deaths compare to other countries (spoiler: poorly) but there’s always some sort of argument or excuse.
For every 100,000 homicides in 2012, 60% of them were by guns in the US. Canada was 31%, Australia was at 18.2% and the UK had just 10% of firearm deaths per 100,000 homicides.
In another similar study that analyzes more countries and more data, the Crime Prevention Research Center shows that the US has one of the highest homicide rates in the world aside from Latin American countries (who’s guns have been leaked by guess who?).
GUN ATTITUDE
True Activist can’t tell you how to feel, and all of the gun statistics in the world won’t convince a gun supporter that their love of weapons is dangerous, but the facts are out there. As long as you acknowledge that your love of firearms is statistically more likely to kill you or your family than help you thwart danger, your second amendment rights allow you to take those odds.
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