Tonight, someone wrote into John Gibson at Fox News the following which seems to be currently circulating in an email on the Internet:
There have been an average of 160,000 troops in theater (IRAQ) during the last 22 months, which has a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000.
The rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000.
That means that you are 25% more likely to be shot and killed in our Nation’s Capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.
Conclusion: We should immediately pull out of Washington, D.C. (Richard Harter’s World, July 1, 2005)
However, … StateMaster.com has statistics giving the firearm death rate per 100,000 for Washington D.C as 31.2; Firearms Death Rates By State. Seems like Richard Harter is off by almost 300%. I checked Snopes.com and could find nothing on the subject.
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Geez,
Check your facts… are Americans this stupid? First of all, the Iraq firearm death rate of 60 is calculated per month. Washington D.C.’s rate of 80 is calculated per year. And Washington D.C’s rate isn’t 80, it’s more like 31.
It’s 720 deaths per 100,000 per year for our G.I.s, and 31 per 100,000 per year for Washington D.C…
Comment by Don Finkeldei — February 26, 2007 @ 4:05 pm
First of all, I can’t believe people take facts on the surface.
The Iraq G.I. firearm death rate of 60/100,00 is calculated per month… Washington D.C.’s is calculated per year. And… Washington’s statistic is 30/100,000 not 80 per 100,000. The real facts are:
Iraq: 720 deaths per 100,000 per year
Washington D.C.: 31 per 100,000 per year
Comment by Don Finkeldei — February 26, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
Wow, haha, sucks to be the guy that wrote this article!
Comment by Jordan — March 4, 2007 @ 1:49 am
YAWN!
Comment by Joe in TX — March 9, 2007 @ 6:47 am
What’s more is all GIs wear body armor. If this were not the case, the Iraq death rate would be much, much higher. I don’t think the average citizen sports body armor. Stats aren’t reflective of reality.
Comment by Mike — April 12, 2007 @ 11:06 pm
what is the total death rate from accidents in the united states of men between the ages of 18 and 30 per year…versus death rate of men in the service anywhere.. Does anyone know where to find data like that?
That would be a better comparison.
Comment by Kathryn Brownfield — February 24, 2008 @ 1:18 am