Where Guns Are The Issue, Data Is As Data Does

By Dan Zimmerman

By Robert B. Young, MD

Science is supposed to be objective and data-based. Unfortunately, findings aren’t always fact-based and can be skewed, intentionally or not. Premises, like their conclusions, may be questionable. What is the risk that reports that dazzle with brilliance disguise attempts to baffle with bull—-? Pretty high, when they come from gun control advocates . . .

Some examples:

1. “Study shows gun violence surged in Missouri after repeal of gun control laws” (PBS, 2/19/15). Missouri’s handgun permitting law ended universal background checks in 2007. Daniel Webster, of the anti-gun Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, reported “an immediate upward trajectory to the homicide rates in Missouri” (17% more than the average for the U.S.) from 2008 and 2012, “while the national trend was … trending downward”. The investigators controlled for several other potential causes of these changes. They also found that approximately double the previous number of recently sold handguns were being recovered from crime scenes or criminals. What else could this mean, than that easier availability of handguns increased homicide rates and criminal use of handguns?

Well, it could mean the opposite. Why didn’t they compare Missouri’s homicide rate before and after the change …read more

Source:: Truth About Guns