VPC’s Latest ‘Study’ on Gun Deaths Does Not Mean What It Says It Means

By Patrick Richardson

It should come as no surprise to find that the Violence Policy Center (VPC) is…disingenuous…at best. Given this is the same bunch that lumps justifiable homicides, suicides, unintentional shootings and police shootings in with murders, one tends to know where they stand on firearms and the Second Amendment.

Its latest “study” purports to show a 17 percent rise in “gun deaths” since 2008 and conflates this increase with the landmark Heller decision which affirmed an individual’s right to self-defense.

Now, as The Oklahoman recently noted:

That the gun-death rate has increased, both nationally and in Oklahoma, is worth noting and deserving of study. But for the Violence Policy Center to suggest the court ruling in the Heller case somehow played a role is a real leap of logic.

Indeed, since Heller didn’t apply to several states, but only the District of Columbia, it could hardly be responsible for such a rise.

There are several other major issues with VPC’s so-called study. (Remember, these are the same folks who claim defensive gun uses are rare.)

VPC actually undermines its own arguments in its report (emphasis mine):

The state with the highest per capita gun death rate in 2016 was Alaska, followed by …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms