This is more political than technical, but I though it would be good to share here where the most gun owners could see it. Regardless of your position on the Iracwar, I feel this puts things in perspective, if indeed the numbers are accurate.
[blockquote]If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.
The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period.
That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.
Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington[/blockquote]