This was posted on Facebook by an individual I know who wrote a great lead in. Please pass along. Keep a copy to give to friends.
I'll quote his lead in here:
"The argument for dramatically increased gun control laws here in the US rests on this assumption: more guns = more killing. I just finished reading an analysis of this hypothesis by Kates and Mauser published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. They assembled government-published statistics on crime and suicide going back as far as the Middle Ages and the invention of firearms. [Really. I'm not making that up.] In short, Kates and Mauser conducted an exhaustive survey embracing not only the US but everywhere. Their conclusion: the facts unambiguously DON'T support the hypothesis." Douglas Patt
Here's a link to a copy of the Harvard journal.
www.garymauser.net/pdf/KatesMauserHJPP.pdfSam
