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Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

pewsocialtrends.org

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Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#61

Post by oinksoft »

ebbv wrote: post #45

Of course it is. All violent crime is down. That has nothing to do with the fact that kids are still accidentally getting shot. I propose a new law; if a child (under 18) is found in possession of a gun the gun owner is fined $50,000. If the gun's ownership cannot be established, the parents or legal guardians are fined $50,000 instead. People might be a little more serious about locking up their guns and not letting…

I'm not sure you understand how common a diversion target practice (even shooting tin cans) and small-game hunting is for rural American youths.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#62

Post by granitepail »

corresation wrote: post #30
Terretta wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> selectively choose which crime stats to promote For example, FBI homicide stats last year show 350 killed by rifles of any kind, assault or otherwise, while 750 killed by hammers. I keep waiting for the groundswell of public support for hammer control.

750 were killed by hammers or clubs which includes any blunt force attack (vase, bat, golf club, etc. I am assuming that you're accurately quoting a number, though last I saw that number was more in the 450 range). Secondly every home has numerous objects that qualify as "clubs", many of them serving valid, functional roles (for instance to hammer, or to hit balls, etc). In many households a firearm has one single pu…

It's also worth noting that while blunt objects such as hammers and baseball bats find uses in construction and non-violent sports, guns do not necessarily share such innocent use cases. Sport shooting is the major exemption (I'm quite a fan, myself) but at the end of the day guns are designed to put holes (some messier than others) in objects very far away. When a gun is pointed at a living organism and the trigger is pulled, its chances of survival plummet.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#63

Post by tbrownaw »

damoncali wrote: post #6
dmix wrote: post #2

Also ALL violent crime is down 50% since 1993. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooa98FHuaU0 Fear is a powerful weapon. The media and politicians know this and selectively choose which crime stats to promote. Emotional outrage > rational analysis when it comes to selling pageviews and building political support. That is nothing new. Fortunately the internet is helping to temper that imbalance.

It's also down absolutely . Not just the rate.

Well yeah, the size of the population would have to be changing pretty rapidly for that not to be the case.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#64

Post by pygy_ »

It appears that gun homicide rate increased under Bush Sr. (~5.6 => 7.0) and Jr.(3.8 => 4.0), and declined under Reagan(6.6 => 5.6), Clinton (7.0 => 3.8) and Obama (4.0 =>3.6).

Numbers are in death/100,000 people, (+/-0.1 because they were read from the graph[0]).

A t-test on the yearly rate of change, yields a p-value of 0.002. (in Excel =T.TEST(A1:A12, B1:B14,1,3)).

Did the Bush have a peculiar approach regarding crime fighting?

[0] http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2013/05/SDT-2013-05-gun...

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#65

Post by k_kelly »

cpursley wrote: post #9
dmix wrote: post #2

Also ALL violent crime is down 50% since 1993. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooa98FHuaU0 Fear is a powerful weapon. The media and politicians know this and selectively choose which crime stats to promote. Emotional outrage > rational analysis when it comes to selling pageviews and building political support. That is nothing new. Fortunately the internet is helping to temper that imbalance.

'Fear is a powerful weapon' - exactly. The media and bureaucrats want you to be afraid of your own shadow, when in fact you should be afraid of McDonalds and not wearing your seatbelt.

I don't eat McDonalds and I wear my safety belt. Other people having guns is not something I can control though, hence the justified need to control who can be given them. I don't worry about my freedom to gun people down, it's not a freedom I really want.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#67

Post by bluedino »

shawabawa3 wrote: post #46
Terretta wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> selectively choose which crime stats to promote For example, FBI homicide stats last year show 350 killed by rifles of any kind, assault or otherwise, while 750 killed by hammers. I keep waiting for the groundswell of public support for hammer control.

Deaths by handguns in US 2011: 6,220 [1] Most people aren't really bothered by rifles (which are mostly used for hunting), but handguns (which really have no purpose except killing humans) [1] http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/c...

Rifles (especially AK47s) are very popular with gangs for drive by shootings.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#68

Post by mattsfrey »

Nobody seems to mention the reason I think accounts for a good deal of the drop, which is simply the perception that you're going to get caught is much higher. Up until the mid 90's there wasn't even DNA analysis. The world was a much simpler place, no cameras everywhere, cell phones, internet, and a myriad of other ways to be tracked. The rise of technology in law enforcement coupled with the non stop blasting of crime shows depicting criminals getting caught (e.g. CSI) has greatly increased the perception that you will not get away with murder. Today most sane people at least view it as something extremely risky and hard to get away with. Even to the destitute gun crime is not a very attractive option these days, whereas 20+ years ago it wasn't nearly as big a deal. Of course there's a handful of other factors, but I think the perceived likelihood of being caught is probably the most significant.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#69

Post by lmm »

rajat wrote: post #11
ceejayoz wrote: post #5

"Violent non-fatal crime victimization overall (with or without a firearm) also is down markedly (72%) over two decades." So, gun crime's falling significantly slower than crime in general, which may account for the public perception.

Since you're comparing gun crimes to all crimes, doesn't that mean that non-gun crime rates are also falling lower than crime in general (includes with or without firearms)? Public perception is being driven by a media with an anti-gun agenda.

No, because he compared percentages. If gun crime has fallen by 50% and overall crime by 72%, that means non-gun crime has fallen by more than 72%, i.e. much faster than gun crime. Or to put it another way, more crime is being committed with guns than before. Reality's well-known liberal bias strikes again.
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