A forward from Miguel Faria
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Another Gun Control JAMA article (and editorial)
Gun prohibitionists using pseudo-science and public health as a vehicle are at it again. The March 1, 2000 issue of JAMA also contains an editorial entitled, "Gun Carrying and Homicide
Prevention," attempting to extrapolate the results of another paper in the same issue by Andrés Villaveces, MD, MPH, et al (Arthur Kellermann, MD, MPH is a co-author) concluding that a ban on
carrying firearms in two Colombian cities [i.e., Cali and Bogotá] was associated with a reduction in homicide rates for both cities.
The editorial by Lawrence W. Sherman, PhD -- attempting to extrapolate the findings in those Colombian, South American cities noted for the drug trade to the U.S. -- concerns me most. (See
http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v283n9/full/jed00006.html
Colombia (particularly the cities of Cali, Medellin, and Bogotá), a country virtually devoid of the rule of law and immersed in anarcho-terrorism, is not analogous to the situation in the U.S. All-out
drug war, chaos, and the breakdown of the rule of law have resulted in a situation where there is little concern for human life. The situation in Colombia, where prosecutors, judges, senators, and
presidential candidates live under a death sentence, is so chaotic that some authorities could very well argue that a police state would be preferable. But, is that what we need in America? The
great historian Thomas Carlyle posited that in the cycles of world civilizations, tyranny follows anarchy.
I am also concerned about the possible incorrect citations of the works of Profs. Kleck and Lott without specific page numbers in the editorial. I would particularly like to hear from Gary and John
regarding the correctness of those citations as one of us needs to reply to the JAMA editors.
Miguel A. Faria, Jr., M.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Medical Sentinel of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons ( AAPS)
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Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited March 08, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited March 08, 2000).]
<start>
Another Gun Control JAMA article (and editorial)
Gun prohibitionists using pseudo-science and public health as a vehicle are at it again. The March 1, 2000 issue of JAMA also contains an editorial entitled, "Gun Carrying and Homicide
Prevention," attempting to extrapolate the results of another paper in the same issue by Andrés Villaveces, MD, MPH, et al (Arthur Kellermann, MD, MPH is a co-author) concluding that a ban on
carrying firearms in two Colombian cities [i.e., Cali and Bogotá] was associated with a reduction in homicide rates for both cities.
The editorial by Lawrence W. Sherman, PhD -- attempting to extrapolate the findings in those Colombian, South American cities noted for the drug trade to the U.S. -- concerns me most. (See
http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v283n9/full/jed00006.html
Colombia (particularly the cities of Cali, Medellin, and Bogotá), a country virtually devoid of the rule of law and immersed in anarcho-terrorism, is not analogous to the situation in the U.S. All-out
drug war, chaos, and the breakdown of the rule of law have resulted in a situation where there is little concern for human life. The situation in Colombia, where prosecutors, judges, senators, and
presidential candidates live under a death sentence, is so chaotic that some authorities could very well argue that a police state would be preferable. But, is that what we need in America? The
great historian Thomas Carlyle posited that in the cycles of world civilizations, tyranny follows anarchy.
I am also concerned about the possible incorrect citations of the works of Profs. Kleck and Lott without specific page numbers in the editorial. I would particularly like to hear from Gary and John
regarding the correctness of those citations as one of us needs to reply to the JAMA editors.
Miguel A. Faria, Jr., M.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Medical Sentinel of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons ( AAPS)
------------------
Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited March 08, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited March 08, 2000).]