Statistics Play the Lie

So the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio was on the news and gave he gave this statement (or something like this, as my memory fails somewhat).

Out of all the guns we collect committing a crime, 85% are bought at gun shops.

Now, what does that say? Well, to the mayor, legal gun purchases lead to violence. But I take a different look. See, he said the guns the police collect, implying only crimes the cops solve. Well, hmm…what if the cops in Cleveland suck? What if they are truly incompetent? (Yeah, my gut tells me we ain’t dealing with super cops here.) Now, I don’t have any proof that says the Cleveland cops only solve 10% of crimes or if they solve 90%. But think about it. What would the mayor’s statistic mean if they only solve 10% of crimes? Unfortunately for the mayor, when you multiply a percentage, it isn’t always pretty. 85% of all 10% of crimes solved leads to a whopping 8.5% with a gun shop weapon. Now, if the Cleveland cops are super, 85% of 90% is a heckuva lot more, 76.5%. But wait! Even that is not really near 85%.

So, you decide. How much can you read into the mayor’s statement? Do you believe his statement, essentially the first step to gun-control laws? Or, do you ask my secondary question, wondering if the mayor is playing fast and loose with his statistic? After watching the news living near Cleveland for the past couple weeks, I have to think there is a lot of violence. Maybe not as much as in Detroit, but those Cleveland cops would be amazing if they even solved 40% of crimes.

Ultimately it comes down to a basic belief about gun rights. Either you are a Thomas Jefferson or George Washington believing everyone has a right to own a gun to protect their rights or you are a Joseph Stalin or Adolph Hitler believing that one man with a gun can control 1000 without one. So do you believe in gun control? Are you a Stalin or a Hitler? Or, are you a Jefferson or a Washington? Remember, gun laws don’t mean jack crap to someone willing to break a law like say, murder. What is a simple gun law violation when an evil person is willing to break the law and actually murder someone?

Oh by the way, just to be clear, the case that led to this statement by the mayor was a random shooting of a young girl, which actually hasn’t been solved yet. So…yeah, just so you know.