“That means that you are about 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.” Unless you’re an Iraqi civilian, of course. But leaving them aside, I think a remedial course in statistics is in order. There are two death rates mentioned here: a 60 per 100,000 for Iraq; 80.6 per 100,000 for Washington DC. Are these rates comparable?
Let’s take Iraq first. There have been 2112 deaths in 22 months. The average US soldier population is 160,000:
2112 / 1.6 = 1320 deaths per 100,000
1320 deaths / 22 months = 60 deaths per month per 100,000
What about Washington DC? It’s had 188 murders so far this year, that is, 11 months. The population of DC is around 550,000:
188 deaths / 5.5 = 34.2 deaths per 100,000
34.2 deaths / 11 months = 3.1 deaths per month per 100,000
I think I'd be taking my chances in Washington.
Brendan
References: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108620.html http://www.safestreetsdc.com/
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