Jenni,
if I include the 1500 accidental to the 20,000 firearm murders, I still come up with a figure 10% less than those 225,000 cause by medical negligence,
of all types. I seriously dispute that justifying those deaths as inevitable and therefore excusable because the patient might have died anyway is much of an excuse or meaningless to the families of the newly dead. My step-father passed this last year because the nurses and doctor responsible for the well-being in the home he was in, neglected to treat an ulcer on his leg, caused by the staffs' failure to properly care for him and taking the time to help him exercise by walking and spend time away from his bed. Left to rot by the 'professionals', in the absence of my mother, herself ill at home that week, he rotted . The fact that he was old and was nearing the end of his life should not be used as an excuse for his death. He passed because of neglect and blood poisoning from a minor wound, not because he was aged. Incredibly, the doctor tried to block his transfer to the Wound Clinic at the nearby hospital in those last critical hours, claiming there was no real need to do so.
As far as iatrogenic death is concerned, please keep in mind that mis-medication and incorrect medical treatment of critical patients is still negligence and almost a certainty that the patient will not survive. What is meaningless is the assumption that
all those people were doomed regardless of the quality of medical attention given.
I must take a moment to wonder, which is the greater injustice, the misanthropes, gang-bangers and drug dealers shooting up each other the streets, or the extensively trained and supported physicians who repeatedly commit such errors and are still allowed to practice with the blessings of their peers.
As far as the 'ape like' you'll find no denial from me that they are a problem that needs to be sorted out. However, to point to them as sufficient reason to deny law-biding people their rights, and I seriously mean
Rights, in my opinion and in American High Law, to own firearms, is the worst sort of knee-jerk reaction and not likely to be tolerated by a public that occasionally remembers that government is there to serve them, not they to serve government. Not too long ago Americans across the nation let politicians who tried to saddle us with more of their anti-gun laws know by way of the poll, that they were fed up with their monkey-shines and kicked-out/denied many of them public office.
Those people in nations in which are in turmoil will continue to suffer and die. You are right when you say that "The slaughter around the world is distressing", however banning guns will only ensure the weak and poor struggling for a better life will be disarmed and those who prey upon them will do so forever, unopposed and able to circumvent international decrees that they divest themselves of firearms. A firearm such as the AK47 is a simple thing to make and even if you could cut off a nations source of weapons, you can be assured that that nation will manufacture their own. Politicians who claim they can rid the world of such things should be viewed as possessing a dangerously naive sense of the world, at best, or more likely, pandering to honest people who want an end to the mayhem and are taught to believe that this one solution will cure the worlds ills..
Here is a link to an article about U.K. Doctors against pointed knives.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4581871.stm
I'm sure you could find other reports about this effort.
As far as intruders coming armed, that is already de rigor so having the ability to put up a fight on your own turf is much preferred to simply letting then have their way. Yes the is a good chance you might not gain an advantage, but at least the odds are not so one-sided.
Less than lethal results are always preferred, but the reality is that many people have been seriously wounded and killed thinking they have dealt with an intruder threat and lessened their guard. Being killed by a wounded assailant or is no better option than being killed by one who is unopposed. It is also good to remember that most people are not blessed with ESP and therefore can not tell when an attacker is only going to rob or beat them a little, as opposed to rape or kill. Taking a strong, no compromise position and dealing with threats from strength is in your best interest and the benefit of your family.
It wold be great to live in an America which was free of violent crime, but that's not happening anytime soon, firearms or not.
Cheers