Guns in US
Writer Peter Boyer (1999) describes how similar misperceptions of risk are fostered by the gun lobby in the United States, which tries to keep the public focused on vivid cases of "intruders" coming through the doors of households. The not-so-subtle subtext here is that you lower your risk by having a gun to protect yourself. Boyer (1999) points to the irony that the gun industry tries to focus attention on "guns in the hands of bad people" when the actual statistics show that the real problem is "guns in the hands of good people". Criminals do not account for most gun deaths in this country. There are actually more suicides with guns than there are homicides with guns. Most gun deaths are unintentional shooting and suicides - which is why research indicates that bringing a gun into a home actually increases family risk (Miller, Azrael, & Hemenway, 2002).
- How To Think Straight About Psychology by Keith E. Stanovich
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