Crazy, Viral Story of Boogie Woogie Piano Man Dr. K. and Freedom of Speech

I haven’t posted a blog in a while and I was trying to keep the blogs travel related, at which I’ve failed miserably.  However, this is an interesting story that Jerry and I have been following. We happened upon the main video on January 20, 2024 the day after it was posted while it was going viral but before it became an international story picked up by several news outlets and it turned into quite an ongoing story.  Hence the blog post. 

 

A bit of background. In St. Pancras station in London there is a piano that was donated by Elton John for free use by anyone (we saw this piano when we were in St. Pancras last summer). Last Friday, January 19, 2024, a musician named Brendan Kavanagh, AKA Dr. K., was playing, as he does frequently, and an incident occurred. He was confronted by Chinese supporters of the CCP at around the 9:14 mark.

This has gone viral, has made news in the UK and abroad and the story continues to grow. The CCP are trying to take this video down. The Chinese demanded he not record them (in a public place) and that he must delete the recording. In a side note, 2 of the people, the woman in fancy dress, Adilina, and a guy in a jacket, were there and interacting with Brendan and shaking his hand and the guy even played the piano.

Then the 3 "handlers" arrived and they caused the problems. The policewoman was also in the wrong. She should have at least watched the video before believing the Chinese people and condemning Dr. K., because everything they were saying was dispelled watching the video.  It’s as though she just didn’t want to get into an incident with the Chinese and their (unfounded) claim of racism.  She though she could just bully Dr. K. into taking the blame. 

This police officer also says the policewoman mishandled the incident.  

This occurred in the UK where they have free speech and this was in a public place and as Dr. K. says it’s all about freedom of speech.

The Chinese people in this video are the woman in fancy red dress Adalina Jeng,  the insane shouting man is Newton Leng, and the woman who approached Brendan with the yellow flier Mengying Liu, Liu’s British boyfriend is in the background with another woman later tentatively identified as Christine Lee.  

More on these people here:

And here:

The host of the previous video also identified the woman in the background as Christine Lee who is heavily involved with the CCP. 

Since this has gone viral, every day something new has happened.

Dr. K appeared on TalkTV

and Piers Morgan

Others say that the woman cannot be positively identified as Lee due to distance and video quality, but most agree that she is definitely a CCP handler.

Term of the day: “Little Pink”

I had not heard this term before, and I don’t know much about them, but it seems to be a group of Chinese Nationalists who criticize anyone who says anything negative about China.  They seem to be mostly internet centric.

 'Online nationalism in China and the “Little Pink” generation'

Mind you, we are watching this unfolding as it happened.  It kept getting crazier.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the week, after the incident went viral, the piano was cordoned off and police officers were guarding it. 

 

According to Brenden, "The Daily Express" attempted to contact Elton John, who donated the piano for public use.  I don’t know if he was notified or if he intervened, but the cordon was removed and the piano was once again free for people to use.

Also, Brendan received many threats and the CCP attempted to have the video removed from YouTube.  The video has been reported multiple times but it, as of now, has not been taken down.

They have also started a smear campaign against Brendan. 

There were also complaints from them (grasping at straws) that he was hogging the piano. Brendan played for about 10 minutes, and the Chinese gentleman in their group also played.

They also complained that Dr. K. called them Japanese.  This was an honest mistake.  You can tell it was an honest mistake because when Dr. K. is talking to his friend Jim, who played with him, about the group that was filming he was with and said Chinese, Jim said "Japanese."  There were 2 groups, one Chinese and one Japanese and Dr. K. thought there was only Jim's group and that the group of Chinese were the ones with Jim and therefore he thought they were the Japanese group. If you watch the 2 initial videos it's clear, but Dr. K. does explain this in another video.  

Because of threats Dr. K. says he went into hiding, sleeping in his van,  but then on Friday, January 27, 2024 Dr. K. Brendan Kavanagh returned to play on the St. Pancras free piano.

What’s up with Winnie the Pooh?  Winnie the Pooh, images and mentions of Winnie the Pooh are banned because people compared CCP general secretary Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh.  So if you have Winnie the Pooh in your broadcast, it will not be shown in China.

 Winnie the Pooh Banned in China

The Chinese didn't want their faces shown, we their approach totally backfired and now their names and faces are plastered everywhere, especially "DON'T TOUCH HER" Newton Leng  who now has several memes with him such as this:

They would have been better off just walking away.

It has been very interested following this as it unfolded.  I’ll update if anything new crops up.

I wish I had gotten a photo of the now infamous piano, but I didn't take any photos inside the station. I do, however, remember seeing the piano. We were there on June 28, 2023.  We arrived on the Eurostar from Brussels where we flew into and then took the local train down to Dover for our cruise.  If I had known it had been donated by Elton John and had his signature on it, I would have taken a photo. 

Watch Brendan Kavanagh on YouTube here: DrKBoogieWoogie on Youtube

He really is a fabulous and fun pianist. 

 

Florida Keys Key Lime Pie Countdown

Counting down the best Key Lime Pies of the southern Florida Keys.  We tried 7 key lime pies, here's the result of our taste test.

Last Place: Bucktooth Rooster, Big Pine Key: Excellent fried shrimp, excellent service and the only key lime pie that came with a slice of key lime on top. I was expecting more. Thick and creamy texture with balanced flavor, not too sweet, nor too tart this pie has a good filling. The graham cracker crust has good taste but is too thick and tough to cut through, which ruins the pie. The whipped cream was average with very little flavor and the green lime drizzle had an odd after taste.  The odd flavor and the poor crust lands this pie on the bottom of my list.  Remove the drizzle, add better whipped cream and fix the crust, this has a chance to be a much better pie.

Number 6: RedFish, Blue Fish, Key West: Their key lime pie was creamy with a firm texture. It had a nice key lime flavor, not too sweet and not too tart. It had an average graham cracker crust. Their whipped cream tastes like cool whip and not home-made which detracts from the overall key lime flavor. There was no drizzle, which isn’t a bad thing. Their fish and chips were excellent, but the extraordinarily poor, slow service and their less than average pie puts them at number 6.

Number 5: Kermit’sKey West Lime Shoppe, Key West. Their name is plastered everywhere. Key Lime, especially Key Lime pie, is their business.  Kermit’s slightly tart, not too sweet with a creamy texture and average whipped cream. It has a nice graham cracker crust, but nothing spectacular.  Being that Key Lime is their specialty, it was really a very average pie.

Number 4: FloridaKeys Steak and Lobster House, Marathon. Their key lime pie was not too sweet, not to tart, thick creamy custard-like texture. Tasty graham cracker crust with a good texture. Th'lere was a 'limey' green gel drizzle which was very sweet. The whipped cream had a nice flavor. This was a lovely, “upscale” restaurant, upscale meaning they have cloth tablecloths, however, being the keys, no need to dress up here. Food is exceptional with excellent service. They need more parking as we drove around for over 15 minutes to find a place to park.  The filet mignon and prime rib were cooked perfectly and delicious. Their pie was above average and a nice ending to a wonderful meal.

Number 3: ConchRepublic Seafood Company, Key West: Their Key lime pie has nice graham cracker and cashew crust, very flavorful. The pie had a subtle, mild key lime flavor, not too tart, well balanced, nicely creamy. The pie was drizzled with raspberry sauce which I couldn’t taste. the plate was drizzled with “key lime sauce” which is very sweet, too sweet, with some key lime flavor. Both sauces are unnecessary as the pie is delicious on its own with the whipped cream it’s served with.  Without the sauces, this could have been higher on the list. They are right on the water and you can watch the boats come and go.  The have a lovely lobster bisque and fresh seafood.

Number 2: Two Friends, Key West: Everything about this restaurant was top notch. The service was superb and the food delicious.  Their Key Lime pie came very close to being number one.  With its thick and creamy texture and lovely key lime flavor, an excellent graham cracker crust with a bit of a crunch and a hint of nutmeg and loaded with real whipped cream and sprinkled with crumbs, you can’t go wrong with this key lime pie or the food.

Drum Roll Please! Number 1: King Seafood Market and Restaurant,Marathon. King Seafood is a small seafood market that also cooks excellent seafood.  They also happen to make the number one pie on our list.  The pie had a wonderful creamy texture and had the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness. Their graham cracker crust had a nice flavor and consistency, not too hard, not too soft with just the right amount of crunch. It was served with lovely whipped cream on top that had a subtle sweet flavor.  It didn't really need that much whipped cream, but you can always scrape it off. Overall an excellent pie and my number one pick. I’ve been told their fried key lime pie is even better, something to look forward to trying.

Sanford, Florida Police Department Lip Sync Battle

Sanford, FL Police Department joined the lip sync battle way back when it first began, even before it went viral.  The different departments challenged each other.  Here are their lip sync videos:

Alpha Unit -- Locomotion

Community Relations Unit -- A Thousand Miles

Charlie Squad -- Don't Stop Believing

They challenged Delta Squad, but I can't find the video.

Sanford Police Department -- Can't Stop the Feeling

Motors -- Born to be Wild

Crime Scene -- I Put a Spell on You

K-9 Unit -- Happy Together

My Cruise/Vacation Tips

Many of these can be found in other posts, here are my favorites in no particular order:

Carnival uses sail & sign card for everything. It's a room key/charge card/disembark/boarding card all in one.  You can use a card holder lanyard either with pocket or they have a hole you can just clip your lanyard to it.  

We also got RFID credit card holders to take our cards/cash off the ship.  They easily fit in your pocket. 

You can also get a stick on stretchy wallet for the back of your phone to keep your cards and money in:

Coffee usually sucks on cruise ships and some hotels.  If you really like good coffee bring your own and get a travel steeper: 

/

My room steward commented on how good my coffee smelled.  I left her my leftover coffee and my coffee steeper.

Don’t forget your travel mug.

I also bring mini cups with lids to carry the coffee from my room to the buffet and a ziplock to carry the steeper in to take back to my room to wash. 

Bring lots of Ziploc bags in different sizes.  Quart, gallon, 2 gallon.  Can be used for ice, wet clothes, carrying your coffee to breakfast and the wet travel steeper back to the room.  Also, grab some fruit/snacks and take it with you to your room.

The ship is metal, the walls and ceilings are metal, bring magnetic hooks.  I got these at Walmart and they were very helpful keeping my oxygen tubing off the floor preventing a tripping hazard.  Can also be used to hang clothes, towels, laundry bag etc.

I I bring extra hangers, the flat lightweight kind, because there aren’t usually enough, though this time there were plenty.  I think someone left them behind. You can get slim hanger clips for pants/skirts for the slim hangers. You can also just use the magnetic hangers that I mentioned above.

Extension cords and power strips are helpful.  You can usually get an extension cord from the ship, just ask your steward.  On some ships staterooms have only 1 plug.

 If you need a handle getting in/out of shower/tub, this is a good travel handle.  Never fell off the whole week on the ship and I even hung my mesh shampoo bag on it.  It’s small and lightweight enough to pack.

If you check your bag don’t forget to bring a carry on bag with your medicines, jewelry, bathing suits, extra clothes etc.  You may not get your checked bags until later.   You can then use this bag for the last night/morning since you have to put your checked bags out the night before.  On most cruise lines your empty suitcases fit under the bed.

   When the restaurant boxes up stuff to take back to your room they usually put it on a plate with a cover.  This plate doesn’t fit in the mini fridge.  We used to bring a small collapsible cooler, but that didn’t work either for the plates.  We got this round collapsible cooler.  It collapses but it does take up quite a bit of room in the suitcase.  We were driving so it didn’t matter because we could have taken it out of the suitcase and carried it off if we need the room. One 2 gallon Ziploc filled halfway with ice kept everything cold.  

We got lightweight foldable backpacks.  These worked great.  

 Cruise luggage tags work great and protect the paper from getting wet or pulling off.  There are different ones for the different cruise lines.  We got these for Carnival.  They worked very well. 

Tipping.  Bring cash to tip your dining room server (if you have anytime dining like we did you can tip the individual groups accordingly)  and room stewards.  I don’t know about other cruise lines, but Carnival takes some of the money out of the tips.  Go to guest services and have dining and housekeeping taken off your list and then tip them with cash.  That way they will get the entire tip.  Leave Alternative Services on since this goes to all the people who take care of you on the lido deck.  Bar servers you can tip as you go but watch out as tips are usually included.  I also found out that Carnival has been cutting back on staff for the last year.  Many long time staff have quit. (No this has nothing to do with immigration, they’ve been cutting back well before Trump even started running).  Therefore the room stewards need to cut back on service depending on the steward’s load.  Our steward could clean the room either in morning or evening.  If you choose morning there was no turn down service.  Every time I cruise I notice they’ve cut back more and more.  However,  the staff is great, they bust their butts and they do it with a smile.  Keep an eye out, you’ll see they work very hard.  That’s why you want the entire tip (and maybe then some) to go to them. 

Speaking of dining, Carnival has 3 dining options.  Early dining at 6:00pm (5:30pm for Alaska cruises), Late dining at 8:15pm (7:45pm for Alaska cruises) or 'Your Time' open seating, between 5:45pm and 9:30pm (between 5:15pm and 9:00pm for Alaska cruises). The early and late dining you get the same table/wait staff every night.   We  do the ‘Your Time’ dining.  If you come early you might have to wait.  They use pagers now.  If you come at 8pm or later you don’t have to wait and you can ask to sit with the same wait team (though not necessarily same table) every night.  It’s very flexible and if you don’t like your dining staff you can pick someone else the next night.  Also, if you go later you get more individual attention because the dining room isn’t full.  Don’t forget, unless otherwise stated, you are not limited to only one appetizer, dinner or dessert.  I sometimes get the fruit and cheese dessert and take it back to my room to snack on.  You usually can also get the dining room menus in advance if you ask at guest services/purser and also on the app.  If you are traveling over a holiday, make specialty dinner reservations as soon as you book your cruise.  Even though we did, the steak house was sold out for our anniversary which coincides with Valentine’s day.

If the ship has multiple buffet stations on lido deck, the ones in the back are usually less crowded.

If you like bananas, eat them at the beginning of the cruise, they will be non-existent by the end.  They load them on in the home port so they are no good by the end of the cruise unless you grab a few and keep them in your mini-fridge.  They will turn black on the outside but the inside will still be good 5-7 days once ripe. 

We’ve now had 2 bad experiences with the Carnival Breeze “Cherry on Top” store.  The first cruise they didn’t deliver things as promised and then tried to say they delivered things they didn’t.  It was a hassle and my birthday cake came 2 days late because of all the back and forth trying to get it delivered.  This cruise they had the total for something Jerry picked up in the store and he signed for one amount and they added a tip for delivery (it wasn’t delivered) without telling him.  We had to go to guest services Saturday night and wait in a long line to get it taken care of and it still wasn’t taken care of as we were getting ready to get off the ship.  Once again we waited in a long line to get it take care of.  The guest services person got on the phone and waited until it was credited to our account and then gave us our final bill.  Long story short, watch your charges like a hawk. 

Carnival hub app.  It’s great.  There is room for improvement, but it’s great.  It has the entire schedule, ship map, photos, time schedules open/close, menus etc.  There’s a chat feature that costs $5 and works sporatically.  The photo feature will get even better as they convert the ships over to totally digital photos.  

Speaking of photos, they use your passport photo as your id photo now.  I was appalled as my photo is horrendous and every time I went in/off ship or had photos taken there was my awful photo. 

Carnival says don’t bring towels they have for you to use, and yes they do.  However, their towels weigh a ton and 2 tons wet.  I bring lightweight towels I got at Walmart for about $5.  They also come in handy when you need to wrap breakable things up.

You can bring on 2 bottles of wine.  Depending on which port they may ask to see the wine.  I use wine skin bags to protect the wine.  They are disposable but I usually use them several times before I need to throw them away.  You can also use the bags to protect small breakable items on the way home.  Carnival has a $15 corkage fee if you want to drink it in the dining room.  On our last cruise we found a wine we liked.  On the ship it’s $36, at Total wine it’s usually 12.99.  I got it on sale for $10.39.  So even with the corkage fee I saved money.   (Yes, they charge almost 3 times what you can get the wine for on land).  You can also pour yourself a glass in your room and carry it with you to dinner for no extra charge.  Mini fridge is good for wine.  You can only bring on one bottle per person.

Bring filter bottles and fill them on the lido deck.  You can also bring a travel cup or sports bottle and fill with juice/tea.  Carnival has Orange juice and a mixed juice in the morning and lemonade and tea all other times. (Subject to change) You can fill your bottles and they will fit in the mini fridge with your wine.

Depending on the port you may have to have your CPAP/oxygen concentrators check by K9 unit.  They never opened the CPAP machine bag, though I’m sure they are supposed to.  They do sell distilled water on the ship.  Gallon is around $3.49.

  Most ports let you on the ship just by showing your sign/sail card.  Some ports, like Cozumel, make you go through security, X-ray, metal detector etc.

If you are on Carnival and it a standard stateroom, if faster to the fun is available it's worth the price, unless you don’t mind waiting…  They sell out fast.

If you are in a cabin or hotel room that you need to put a card in to keep your lights on, you can use any card, it doesn’t have to be your room key card. 

Have fun.  If you have any other great tips, let me know and I’ll add them.

Remembering Bella

(all these photos, and more, can be found on Rob's Instagram and Facebook pages.)

Here is a story of love and devotion between a terminally ill dog and the man, a marine veteran, who loved her and spent her last months taking her on the journey of a lifetime.

Here is the story of Rob and Bella.

Over a year ago, doctors gave Bella, diagnosed with terminal cancer, she had a leg amputated because of bone cancer and the cancer had spread to her lungs. She was given 3-6 months to live. Rob decided to take Bella with him on a trip to Chicago so he could spend as much time with her as to spend as much time with her as he could. It didn't stop there, next thing you know, they were an epic journey around the United States together.

As word spread, Rob and Bella became internet sensations. 

They were even featured by several news outlets.

Here's a story about them on CNN:
Man takes his dog, dying of cancer, on one last, epic road trip

and the Telegraph:
Man takes terminally ill dog on farewell cross-country road trip​

and even the today show
His dog was given months to live, so this man took her on a cross-country trip​

He gained thousands of followers on his instagram, facebook and twitter accounts.  People from around the world were following the journey of Rob and Bella.

Rob and Bella traveled the country

Thursday, October 27, 2016, Rob took Bella on a ride, not knowing it would be her last.

Video of Bella's last ride.  Click here

That night Bella's breathing became labored and, as Rob snuggled in next to Bella at the vet, he posted to his instagram followers that that the end was near.

Click here to read Rob's post

Sadly, Bella passed away Friday, October 28 with Rob by her side. Through the sheer force of Rob's love, Bella lived much longer than the vets thought.

On Friday, October 28, 2016 Rob posted this picture of Bella to his instagram/Facebook

Click here to see Rob's message

and wrote:

Goodbye my Love. Thank you for never abandoning me...never judging me...never giving up on me... Thank you...for Loving me with every beat of that beautiful heart. Now go, become one with all...dance in the wind, flow in the ocean, and give warmth to the hearts of all you've touched...for your Love is now eternal and immeasurable.
To my brother Mike, sister Charity and all my grandparents... give this girl some tummy rubs, would you? For all the spirits young and old who were brought to the other side far too soon due to some type of ailment or disease that took you before your time... welcome this girl as I'm sure she's greeting you with a wagging tail.

 R.I.P. sweet Bella.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Rob at this difficult time.

Fly Bella, Fly!

For more, you can visit Rob's

instagram page CLICK HERE,

his Facebook page, CLICK HERE

or his website, RK Life Illustrated, CLICK HERE

Update "Does Research and Statistics Support Gun Control?"

Author’s note: I reached out to a respected expert on gun control statistics, Dr. Gary Kleck, professor of criminology at Florida State University.  He was kind enough to send me the chapter The Great American Gun Debate:What Research Has to Say  from The Criminal Justice System, 10th edition, Edited by George F. Cole and Marc G. Gertz. Wadsworth. (Published January 2012). [Note: the copy of the paper I linked to had been hacked at one point and nasty, unrelated stuff added, at this time I don't have a reliable link to the paper.]   He also sent me a copy of National Vital Statistics Reports Volume 60, Number 3  which is the final report for 2009 which he says “provides the most recent final mortality data, showing numbers of deaths from all causes, with separate counts for gun deaths.”

There is no problem with guns, there's a problem with people.  People are the ones committing heinous crimes.  These criminals and terrorists don't follow laws. They don't care if there are gun laws. If someone is going to commit murder, a crime that has the death penalty/life imprisonment, do you really think gun laws will deter them?  Terrorists and insane people who want to hurt people will find a way.  If not guns, explosives, planes, cars, or other means to cause harm.  This is because it's not the weapon that is causing the death, it's the person bent on causing death.

The way to prevent these types of incidents isn't to regulate or ban guns, it's to help identify and treat those with mental illness who are a danger to themselves and others and to identify terrorists before they commit heinous acts.  People are the problem, not their weapons of choice. Remember, no guns were involved in the 9-11 attacks.



1. Gun control doesn't work.  None of the worst attacks would have been prevented by any form of gun control and likely it was gun laws which prevented people from being armed defending themselves and others.

2. People misuse the term "assault rifle." There is a specific type of rifle, fully automatic that is called an "assault rifle."  Fully automatic rifles are illegal for most people other than military or police and a few select people to possess.  None of the recent attacks involved fully automatic rifles. Media, either intentionally or because they are ignorant, mistakenly call rifles used in the recent crimes "assault rifles."  "AR' does not stand for 'assault rifle' or 'automatic rifle' it stands for ArmaLite rifle, the company that developed it.
In case you don't know what an assault rifle is and what it isn't, here is an explanation:

Some have included semi-automatic weapons that are capable of switching to automatic in the definition of "assault rifle" but they all have the characteristic of being able to fire automatically.  Guns that are strictly semi-automatic are not "assault rifles."  Some people also confuse "assault rifles" with "Assault Weapons" which are something completely different.

3. Guns are not the problem, people are the problem

4. We must do a better job at preventing terrorism, preventing terrorists from entering the country by improving vetting people who come into the country.  We must also do a better job identifying terrorists who are in the country.

5. Most importantly, the government should not make laws that make people incapable of protecting themselves. It is not feasible for police to be everywhere.  What is feasible and what would be the best way to protect ourselves, our families and our children is to be armed and trained.  School staff should be properly trained and armed like they do in Israel.

Israeli Elementary School

We train teachers and staff how to perform first aid/CPR and use an AED to save kids, why not train them to use firearms? this is just another way to protect our precious children.

People in the nightclub in Orlando were sitting ducks, being murdered while waiting for police with guns to come and save them instead of being armed and saving themselves.

5. Identifying those with mental illness, especially those with the potential of causing harm must be improved.  The public school systems are failing our children. Schools don't know what to do with smart kids who don't fit the social 'norms' even though they are required, by law, under The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) , to identify and "provide early intervention, special education and related services to infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities." This includes not only those with physical disabilities, but also mental and emotional disabilities.  School systems are failing to do this.  "Mental health is still not adequately diagnosed or treated in the United States, and especially not among young people...not delivered in a very effective manner.”

In fact,  a Connecticut state review panel has concluded "Medical professionals and school staff missed multiple opportunities to help Adam Lanza with his severe emotional and psychiatric disorders."


So, what does research and statistics say about gun control?

What are the statistics of guns used for violence versus gun use for protection and, 

“Perhaps what is most striking about the patterns of gun ownership in the US is that ownership is generally highest in those groups where violence is lowest.” (Kleck 1997, Chapter 3).  “It is well known that guns are used in many violent crimes in the US. [However] The best available evidence indicates that guns are used by victims in self-protection considerably more often than crimes are committed by offenders using guns.  For example, victims used guns defensively about 2.0-2.5 million times in 1993, compared to fewer than 600,000 violent crimes committed by offenders with guns (Kleck and Gertz 1995).”

“Defensive gun use is effective in preventing injury to the victim and property loss.  Research based on interviews with large nationally representative samples of crime victims consistently indicates that those who use guns during crime incidents are less likely to be injured or lose property than those who either adopt other resistance strategies or do not resist at all. These effects are usually produced without shooting the gun or wounding a criminal -  only 24 per cent of gun defenders even fired the gun (including warning shots), only l6 per cent tried to shoot the perpetrator, and at most 8 per cent wounded the offender (evidence summarized in Kleck and Kates 2001, Chapter 7).”

“There is also evidence indicating that some criminals may be deterred from making some criminal attempts in the first place by the prospect of victim gun use against them. Criminals interviewed in prison indicate that they have refrained from committing crimes because they believed a potential victim might have a gun, and crime rates have dropped substantially after highly publicized instances of prospective victims arming themselves or being trained in gun use, or victims using guns against criminals. (research summarized in Kleck and Kates 2001, Chapter 7).”

Information I had not even considered, “that when criminal aggressors possess guns in a crime incident, they are substantially less likely to attack and injure their victims in the first place. At least nineteen studies have found that offenders possessing guns are less likely to injure their victims than offenders with other weapons or no weapons. The explanation appears to be that possession of a lethal weapon enables aggressors to intimidate victims without actually attacking them, in crimes where the offender’s goal is not to kill the victim.” Kleck 2011

Many gun control proponents state that having stricter gun control laws that restrict who can purchase guns will prevent criminals from obtaining guns.  Studies show that most criminals do not obtain their guns from a conventional retail dealer of guns. 

Eight four percent, of 943 felon handgun owners surveyed, 
did not purchase the gun from a conventional retailer.

Since many use death rates to defend their anti-gun agenda we must compare the mortality rates related to gunshot wounds as compared to mortality rates by other mechanisms.

Why do people focus more on gun injury related deaths? Why guns when more people have died from poisoning and motor vehicle accidents individually and followed closely by falls? There are restrictions on some types of poisons, but that didn’t prevent 41,592 deaths by poison in 2009. There are even less restrictions on motor vehicles which caused 34,485 deaths in 2009.Both of these cause more deaths than guns. All of these can be used by in the commission of murder.  It's about an anti-gun agenda, controlling the population through gun control has long been used by governments. Anti-gun advocates have believed the government's use of emotional brainwashing that guns are evil and kill people.  They use 'crime stats' to back up their position.  

Let's look at crime stats.

Choose your own crime stats:

According to: National Vital Statistics Reports Volume 60, Number 3 December 29, 2011Deaths: Final Data for 2009 (Table 18) in 2009, a total of 177,154 deaths were classified as injury related Four major mechanisms of injury in 2009— poisoning, motor-vehicle traffic, firearm, and fall— accounted for 75.1 percent of all injury deaths.

Mechanism	Number of Deaths 2009	Percentage
Poisoning	41,592	23.5%
Motor-vehicle traffic	34,485	19.5%
Firearm	31,347	17.7 %
Fall	25,562	14.4 %

If you want to see more statistics, you can check out the Explore the Wallstreet Journal's interactive murder database of killings committed in the U.S. from 2000 to 2010  where can limit your search by criteria.  For example: There were 28 drowning murders in 2009.   I'm not sure how accurate the interactive database is, the database  does not include Florida.  The CDC's 2009 vital statistics report, Table 18, says 41 drowning murders in 2009. If the interactive database is correct, 13 occurred in Florida.  That seems a little high to me, but it's possible. Still the interactive database lets you get a feel for the numbers and gives you the ability to compare different categories.

Why then are guns singled out as needing restriction or banned? Could it be, perhaps, a matter of politics? Though there are gun proponents and gun control advocates on both ends of the political spectrum, it seems as though it is mostly the liberals and progressives that want gun control and the conservatives and moderates that defend the second Amendment right to bear arms. That this topic has become entrenched in people’s political belief system, it is difficult, but not impossible, for people’s minds to be changed on the topic of gun control.

Research shows that gun control will not help prevent gun related crimes, nor will it prevent people from obtaining guns. In fact, stricter gun control would cause an increase in crime, increase gun related crime, and victim injury/death.

In response to the question:  What is the defense of those that would try to discredit this study?

Dr. Kleck responded: "I have thoroughly rebutted all of the criticisms of my and others' survey estimates of the frequency of defensive gun use in one convenient source, a chapter in the 2001 book Armed, by Gary Kleck and Don B. Kates."

Dr. Kleck stands by the data in the study. 

Thank you Dr. Kleck!

REFERENCES

Kleck, Gary. 1997. Targeting Guns: Firearms and their Control. N.Y.: Aldine de Gruyter.

Kleck, Gary, and Marc Gertz. 1995. “Armed resistance to crime: the prevalence and nature of self-defense with a gun.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 86:150-187.

Kleck, Gary, and Don B. Kates.  2001.  Armed: New Perspectives on Gun Control.  Buffalo, NY: Prometheus.