Contrary to popular perception, however, most murders do not occur as the result of an attack by a stranger but stem from an argument between people who know each other and often are related. For murders in 1992, for example, in which the relationship and circumstances were reported (61 percent of all murders):
Almost half of the victims were either related to (12 percent) or acquainted with (35 percent) their killers. Only 14 percent were killed by strangers. Twenty-nine percent of female victims were slain by their husbands or boyfriends.
Twenty-nine percent stemmed from arguments, compared with 23 percent resulting from actual or suspected felonious activity.
Ninety-four percent of black murder victims were slain by black offenders. Eighty-three percent of white victims were killed by white offenders. In addition to being intraracial, murder is also intragender for men. In single victim/single slayer situations, 87 percent of all male victims were slain by a male offender. Nine out of 10 female victims, however, were slain by a male.
Research has consistently shown that a gun in the home is far more likely to be used in suicide, murder or fatal accidents than to kill a criminal.
Those who argue that handguns are in truth rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes point to information tabulated by the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports defines a justifiable homicide as "the killing of a felon by a law-enforcement officer in the line of duty, or the killing of a felon during the commission of a felony by a private citizen." In 1992, handguns were used only 262 times by law-abiding citizens to kill criminals justifiably.
http://www.vpc.org/Studies/cfcrisis.htm
Guns Used More For Suicide Than Murder
(AP) The Supreme Court's landmark ruling on gun ownership last week focused on citizens' ability to defend themselves from intruders in their homes. But research shows that surprisingly often, U.S. gun owners use the weapons on themselves.
Suicides accounted for 55 percent of the nation's nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There was nothing unique about that year - gun-related suicides have outnumbered firearm homicides and accidents for 20 of the last 25 years.
In 2005, homicides accounted for 40 percent of gun deaths. Accidents accounted for 3 percent. The remaining
2 percent included legal killings, such as when police do the shooting, and cases that involve undetermined intent.
http://www.wwj.com/Guns-Used-More-For-Suicide-Than-Murder/2518587
Please .. have all the guns you want.
