Gun Sense Lie of the Day #1
Analysis by Gun Owners of Vermont

GS Lie: Vermont women are 5 times more likely to be shot to death by an intimate partner than women in Massachusetts. Vermont is witnessing .32% of our women being murdered with a gun, compared with .06% in Massachusetts. Our other neighboring states also have lower rates than us: New Hampshire has .21% and New York has .18%.

GS LIE: Approximately two Vermont women are being murdered by a gun each year, and this comparison makes it clear that two is too many. For a state our size, we shouldn’t have any.

GOV TRUTH:
Using Michael Bloomberg’s own Everytown report cited below, 5 domestic violence homicides by firearm against women over the course of 5 years, is an average of ONE per year, NOT two.
The RATE is .32 per 100,000 – NOT .32% of women (that would mean 1,015 women).

Percentage of women killed in domestic violence by firearms: ( deaths / population ) x 100
Vermont: 5 deaths over 5 years = 1 per year
1 / 317,251 = 0.0003% of our women are victims of domestic violence by firearm each year.
Massachusetts: 10 deaths over 5 years = 2 per year, twice that of Vermont.
10 / 3,384,184 = 0.0003% of their women are victims, the percentage is EQUAL to that in Vermont.
Women in Vermont are just as safe as in Massachusetts.

GS LIE: In the states that have closed the background check loophole, 46% fewer women are shot to death by their intimate partners (while the non-firearm murder rate is basically the same.)

GOV TRUTH: Domestic violence homicides by firearm against women EVERY year.

Vermont averages 1
Connecticut averages 5
New Jersey averages 7
New York averages 18
California averages 63

How again are women safer in these other states?

15% of Massachusetts residents own firearms.
70% of Vermonters own firearms.

Vermont does NOT have a problem that needs new unconstitutional legislation.

Bob DePino
Field Coordinator
Gun Owners of Vermont