In the Dec. 8 Signal, the USA Today snapshot showed 1.53 million U.S. gun-related deaths from 1968 to 2015 vs 1.2 million US war deaths from 1775 to 2017. This is very misleading. Many of the war deaths, especially in the earlier wars were due to disease, not combat. Most importantly, approximately 60 percent of the 1.53 million gun related deaths were suicide. The 1.53 million figure also includes fully justifiable fatal police shootings and street gang vs street gang violence. Showing these figures without context suggests an anti-gun agenda.
Larry Blanton
Valencia
