More Guns, Less Violence

The AP is reporting on the correlation between societal violence and gun sales. Here's their "report:"

An analysis shows gun-related violence has fallen steadily since 2006 in Virginia despite record firearm sales.

Virginia Commonwealth University professor Thomas R. Baker compared state crime data for 2006 through 2011 with gun-dealer sales estimates obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

His analysis shows the number of gun purchases soared 73 percent in the six-year period, while gun-related offenses fell more than 27 percent.

Baker says the comparison seems to contradict the premise that more guns lead to more crime in Virginia.

In the world of the Associated Press, if violence drops while gun sales skyrocket, it happens "despite" the guns. In other words, the two are unrelated, and it is merely speculation on Professor Baker's part that the AP's hidden assumptions are contradictory.