I know we have beat this to death, but I actually read this in my local newspaper today.  I am a little behind :)

[url]http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ipan/20010723/lf/ann_landers_jul_24_1.html[/url]



Tuesday July 24 03:00 AM EDT
Ann Landers Jul 24
By Ann Landers
Tuesday, July 24, 2001

[b]Dear Ann Landers:[/b] I am a Canadian who cannot understand why you Americans are so naive regarding your safety and the safety of your children. I know the Second Amendment states, "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed," but I cannot believe your Founding Fathers would still feel this way if they knew innocent children were being slaughtered daily in one of the most advanced countries in the world.

A couple of years ago, the Toronto Star printed some very disturbing facts regarding guns in America. An article by Kathleen Kenna stated:

Fifteen American children die from gunshot wounds every day.

In 1996, 9,390 Americans were murdered by gunfire. Compare that to 106 in Canada, 30 in Britain, 15 in Japan and two in New Zealand.

The United States leads the world in using guns to kill its children. In 1997, of all the firearm deaths of kids under the age of 15 in 26 industrialized nations, 86 percent of the victims were in the United States.

Gun-related murder is the leading cause of death among African-Americans aged 15-24.

Guns are the second most frequent cause of death overall for Americans aged 15-24, and they are the top killer of youth in California.

More kids are killed every year by guns in Washington state (population 5.5 million) than in Canada and Great Britain combined (total population 90 million).

Guns are the second leading cause of traumatic death related to a consumer product. (Automobiles are first.)

Wake up, neighbors! Your children are being killed -- thanks to the National Rifle Association and its lobbyists. -- Happy to Be Safe Living in Canada

[b]Dear Safe in Canada:[/b] Thanks for a sane and sensible letter. A while back, the National Rifle Association was touting its defense: "Guns Don't Kill People. People Kill People." How ridiculous can you get? Yes, people kill each other, but it is a lot easier if you have a gun.

Thanks for those statistics. I hope they open the eyes of your neighbors to the south. I have long believed that Canadians are a lot more civilized in this area than Americans.

These people make my blood boil, spouting facts and figures that are neither.

Hey everyone everywhere.  We should start boycotting our local papers until they get rid of Ann Landers.  Let them know why you won't subscribe anymore.  Hit them in the wallet.

I hope john lott responds to this. I wonder if ann would have the guts to print it.

Something no one comments on, but 106 homicides in Canada in one year?  And this justifies MILLIONS of dollars to register every gun in the country?  

To make Canada "safer".  Yeah, right.

A lie, thoroughly debunked, and even abandoned by the folks who made it up.



Interesting they went back to '96 to get their stats, since gun crime has been decreasing in the US, and increasing in ALL the other countries they mention.

Also, isn't it a bit disingenuous to compare the US raw numbers with any other country, as we have 10 - 100 times as many people??





Ahhhh, yes, California - the leading edge of gun control. Apparently, it ain't working so good.






So, wouldn't it make sense to ban cars first, and THEN go for the guns??? No to these turds.




Landers should be ashamed of herself.

Sane and sensible?? statistics?? Gimme a break.

Facts? Maybe if Canada or Great Britain had the same population as the US. California alone probably has more people.

As for the Founding Fathers, I like the way she feels that it is her right to rewrite history and give the FF's a completely new "PC" point of view. Especially since it was Ben Franklin himself who said, "He that would sacrifice a little freedom for temporary safety, deserves neither freedom or safety." This coming from a revolutionary that was probably the most willing to compromise with the Brits in order to prevent war.