Armed America by Kyle Cassidy - a detail to know

On the front page of MSNBC today was a photo essay link to the new book by Kyle Cassidy titled "Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes".

Although the book is gaining a lot of publicity, there is one little thing I do not think anyone has picked up on yet.

In the sidebar on the MSNBC page, the author states "in 1999, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives estimated that there are about 215 million guns in America--at least one firearm in half the households in the country. The anti-gun Brady Campaign, however, puts that number at 192 million guns."

Quick math problem. Lets assume the lower estimate of 192 million guns is correct. If the author photographed 200 individuals out of 192 million, what percentage of gun owners is that?

200 * 100 = 20 000

20 000 / 192 000 000 = 0.000104166667

Wow.

One ten thousandths of a percent.

His book is on Amazon.com and has been reviewed as a fair book concerning firearm ownership. One reviewer link says "The Washington Post had nice things to say about Armed America in the Sunday Books section on July 29th, 2007. Excerpt: "...highly political, even polemical. The question is, in which direction? Each picture in Armed America could be a pro-gun advertisement -- or an anti-gun poster. That's what makes the book so riveting.""

Just bear in mind, as wonderful and incredible as the book has been reviewed by both pro and anti gun advocates, all the author's hard work is for far less than one percent of the total gun ownership in this country.

Something to ponder while reading his book.

-end-