So-called gun researchers have a bad habit of looking for anything they can use to try and find a way to push gun control. We’ve talked repeatedly about how gun studies are garbage via the researchers’ bias, so when I see another study, I kind of know where it’s going.
Advertisement
Never mind that studies that reach a pro-gun conclusion never see the light of day, apparently.
But no, this one is different, I’m sure. After all, what incentive would researchers who have a long history of anti-gun advocacy have to gain by lying in such a way that turns their supposed research into anti-gun advocacy?
That’s just crazy talk.
I’m sure this one trying to say that pregnant women are murdered with guns more often than non-pregnant ones is totally different.
A new study reveals pregnant women in the U.S. face a 37% higher risk of being killed by gun violence than non-pregnant women, highlighting a deadly intersection of domestic violence and gun access.
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School analyzed more than 7,000 homicides across 37 states from 2018 to 2021, finding homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women. Firearms were used in nearly 80% of these cases.
The study, published Monday in JAMA Network Open, shows that states with higher gun ownership rates have significantly more pregnancy-related homicides. For every 1% increase in state-level firearm ownership, firearm homicides of pregnant women increased by 8%.
Louisiana topped the list with 111.4 firearm homicides per 1 million live births, while several states — including Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma — reported none during the study period.
Advertisement
The problem is that the study in question relies on data from a system called the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) from the CDC. NVDRS isn’t open to the general public, so it’s difficult for someone like me to audit the validity of the data included, but we do know that not every jurisdiction submits data. Further, there doesn’t seem to be any standards regarding data submission, which this report noted created some difficulty in interpreting the information correctly.
Then we have the issue of firearm ownership per state. There’s no actual data available on how many guns are in most states, which means they have absolutely no idea, really, which states have how many guns.
Instead, they used data on suicides by firearm in relation to suicide totals to determine gun ownership, which isn’t just a pretty morbid proxy, but not necessarily an accurate one. New Hampshire, for example, is a pretty pro-gun state with a pretty libertarian sensibility. You can’t convince me they don’t have a pile of guns, and yet the report notes that they didn’t report a single murder of a pregnant woman. Interesting.
Then we have the total numbers here.
The study reports that there were 7,063 total homicides of women of childbearing age across these 37 states. That’s an average of just under 191 homicides. Not pregnant women homicides, mind you, but all women of childbearing age.
Advertisement
Then we have the fact that this is over a four-year span. That puts us at a total of around 48 homicides per state, on average, per year.
Of course, the researchers aren’t wrong that these aren’t evenly distributed among the states examined, but you’re still starting to get a picture of just how little there is for these people to derive their findings from.
And this assumes that they correctly identified all relevant factors.
Additionally, there doesn’t appear to be any attempt at differentiating literally anything in these cases. A woman who was one week pregnant and didn’t know it is likely treated the same as one who was due to give birth any minute. Yet if pregnancy is a relevant factor to be considered, wouldn’t there need to be some evidence that the woman knew she was with child?
Then we have the fact that there are no adjustments for economic or lifestyle factors.
In other words, they may have reached this finding, but literally every aspect of what they found and what they reported is problematic. Then again, that doesn’t make it any different than every other garbage gun study out there.
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points.
Help us report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.
