Reply #79: It's hard to know where to start...

[Euromutt]

Let's try here:

Guns DO affect the rate of death by firearms in this country.

True, but tautological. More guns may result in more deaths by gun, but there's no basis to assume that those deaths would not have occurred absent the firearms used.

One good example is Switzerland. It's a while back now, but it frequently got pointed out that Switzerland, which has comparatively lax gun laws, had the highest "death by gun" rate in western Europe. That is, of violent deaths that occurred, Switzerland had the highest percentage that were committed using a firearm. However, at the same time, Switzerland also had one of the lowest homicide rates in western Europe.

We know that more gun ownership means more suicides, more domestic shootings, more accidental deaths and more gun homicides.

We know nothing of the sort. From the findings of the CDC's Task Force on Community Preventive Services (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5214a2.htm):

During 2000--2002, the Task Force on Community Preventive Services (the Task Force), an independent nonfederal task force, conducted a systematic review of scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of firearms laws in preventing violence, including violent crimes, suicide, and unintentional injury. The following laws were evaluated: bans on specified firearms or ammunition, restrictions on firearm acquisition, waiting periods for firearm acquisition, firearm registration and licensing of firearm owners, "shall issue" concealed weapon carry laws, child access prevention laws, zero tolerance laws for firearms in schools, and combinations of firearms laws. The Task Force found insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of any of the firearms laws or combinations of laws reviewed on violent outcomes.

Emphases mine. And Christ knows it's not because nobody's been looking.

But I'm skeptical you'll be convinced, jgraz. After all, you wrote:

That may be supportable by statistics, but that's not the point.

Sounds like truthiness in action to me: never mind that the evidence contradicts me, I'm right because, dammit, I'm so sincere.