In article , "Jerry Peacock"
 wrote:

> Jim McCulloch wrote in message ...
> >In article , Mike Haas
> > wrote:
> 
> >Hmm.  Let's see.  The Austin metropolitan area, as of this morning,
> >contains about 1/254 of the US population.  Mr. Hass is therefore asking
> >us to believe,  based on "independent research by criminologist Gary
> >Kleck", that in the first twelve hours of the new year here is Austin,
> >approximately 14 crimes were averted by citizen ownership of firearms.
> >
> >It seems to me that this supposed statistic would test the credulity even
> >of the truest of true believers.  But, alas, I have to say I would put my
> >money on the credulity of the
> 
> Sounds about right to me.

I figured it would sound about right to you. Inasmuch as Kleck's figures
are wrong by a factor of 30, if we take the NCVS statistics as our guide,
we can assign you the full NRA credulity ranking of 30.  Most of the
readers of tx.guns, at least, will probably score higher than that.

> I wonder, though, if Criminal "A" considers
> committing a crime against Citizen "B" but then decides (for whatever
> reason) to victimize Citizen "C" instead, has a crime been
> prevented? Certainly Citizen "B" thinks so.

Good God! You  mean that the 6 to 8 burglars my dogs successfully defended
my home against (by barking) on New Year's morning went and burgled my
dogless neighbors?  Which, according to you, means my dogs are responsible
for the prevention of 6 to 8 burglaries even if it is  not reflected in an
actual numerical diminishment in breaking and entering??  Wow!  With such
statistical legerdemain, you should get together with Gary Kleck, and John
Lott, and you could then undertake a study which would prove, once an for
all, that citizen ownership and deployment of land mines would make our
streets altogether free of crime.

Best regards,

--Jim McCulloch