On the first day of my intro to statistics class at Loyola, Dr. Bryant told us that statistics are like a lamppost for a drunk...used more for support than illumination.
Ramesh Ponnuru over at NRO's Corner takes issue with commonly-cited statistics on what exactly guns in the home are often used to do as well as the deterrent function they can serve without ever having been shot.
The gist his argument is that when we say that XX% of the firings result in killing of a household member, that includes suicides (where the 'victim' may have just found another means to accomplish the same end were a gun not available) and doesn't speak to the times when the presence of a gun could deter a would-be criminal.
These distinctions, on their own, don't sway me either way on where exactly the right ground is on the issue of individual gun ownership in this country, but it's always good to call people on their $hit.
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