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Armed security a myth

In a Dec. 11 letter, I described the tremendous numbers of deaths and injuries that firearms have been causing annually in the United States. In this letter, I would like to debunk one of the most common myths for possessing firearms, the myth of armed security. This is the belief that having a gun on one’s person or in one’s home makes one safer or more secure. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Studies published in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and The American Journal of Epidemiology have shown that living in a home with a gun increases one’s probability of being killed or injured by a firearm from between 40 percent to 170 percent. Other research has shown that individuals with firearms were 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than individuals without firearms.

Recent headlines from The Spokesman-Review illustrate the danger of possessing a gun: “Woman fatally shoots visiting daughter,” or “Four killed in fight over washing machine.” These incidents are not the result of bad people having guns, but simply people having guns. Period.

Neil Heyen

Spokane

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