This is an idea that comes up a lot more than just in gun control. In fact, almost literally every national-level average statistic that we compile has this problem. When you average over a highly heterogenous data set, you generate a summary statistic that, while technically accurate, is not representative of _anyone's_ experience.
Back in 2014 when President Obama was pushing his gun control agenda, I did some research using FBI statistics about homicide rates in the USA. I first did them by state, then narrowed successively down to cities, counties, then voting precincts. What I found was that the safest places to live were those that had the greatest percentage population of Caucasians, followed by greatest percentage of Asians. The most dangerous places to live were those with the highest percentage of blacks, then Hispanics. When I published it to the select group of firearms owners, at first, I was called racist. I challenged those who disagreed with me to do their own research and tell me where I was wrong. Crickets. At any rate, I suspect that if I were to do that same study today, the results would be similar.
This is an idea that comes up a lot more than just in gun control. In fact, almost literally every national-level average statistic that we compile has this problem. When you average over a highly heterogenous data set, you generate a summary statistic that, while technically accurate, is not representative of _anyone's_ experience.
Back in 2014 when President Obama was pushing his gun control agenda, I did some research using FBI statistics about homicide rates in the USA. I first did them by state, then narrowed successively down to cities, counties, then voting precincts. What I found was that the safest places to live were those that had the greatest percentage population of Caucasians, followed by greatest percentage of Asians. The most dangerous places to live were those with the highest percentage of blacks, then Hispanics. When I published it to the select group of firearms owners, at first, I was called racist. I challenged those who disagreed with me to do their own research and tell me where I was wrong. Crickets. At any rate, I suspect that if I were to do that same study today, the results would be similar.
When does the counter change for murder/homicide rates? When someone finds a corpse or when someone is convicted? Asking for a friend...