Sorry for the late entry here.
quote:A claim that has been made here over and over again is that increased guns = increased violence
That is a strawman.
I agree with you nator.
quote:
* Vermont: one of the safest five states in the country. In Vermont, citizens can carry a firearm without getting permission... without paying a fee... or without going through any kind of government-imposed waiting period. And yet for ten years in a row, Vermont has remained one of the top-five, safest states in the union -- having three times received the "Safest State Award."12
Fact Sheet: Guns Save Lives | GOA
There are also other web-sites that explain how people use guns to defend themselves, 2.5 million people a year.
And to address your statement directly, I do not think that guns themselves increase violence, people will be violent no matter what. But guns may when used properly, can actually decrease violence.
Maybe what he is trying to say is, that given two identical circumstances, one with guns, and one without, that the one with the guns, may wind up in more severe consequences, if shots were fired, but that doesn't make it more violent.
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