With gun violence down, is America arming against an imagined threat?

[Spoonman]

With gun violence down, is America arming against an imagined threat?

With gun violence down, is America arming against an imagined threat?
A Pew study released Tuesday finds that Americans think gun violence has escalated when in reality it's way down from two decades ago. The violence has dropped, meanwhile, even as gun ownership has increased.


Mass shootings, frantic gun-buying, and more Americans legally carrying guns on the street all point to a country fighting a gun violence epidemic, right?

Not necessarily.

As part of a broader trend of declining crime, gun violence in America – while still high relative to other Western countries – has dropped by 49 percent from 1993 to 2011, while nonfatal gun crimes dropped by 69 percent, according to the US Justice Department.

 

[Oscar Wao]

BUT THERE'S A GUN PROBLEM! The media said so!

 

[alan1]

Kinda makes one wonder if all the newly armed citizenry might be making the criminals think twice before committing a criminal act.

 

[RandallFlagg]

Honestly, with the way the country is headed today - arming yourself is (IMO) only common sense. I'm NOT advocating walking down the street with a six-shooter hung low on your hip - not in the least, but having a couple of guns in your home - and more importantly - KNOWING HOW TO USE THEM is somewhat akin to having a fire extinguisher close at hand.

I carried a pistol the entire time I was in the military 7 days a week, 365 days a year for 23 years. And, unfortunately, I killed with some of those same weapons. It is a horrifying thing to do and I would hope that no one EVER has to defend themselves against an intruder.

However, with the proper training (and respect for the weapon), there is no reason why anyone can not defend themselves and not fall prey to a person who is coming to do you, or your family harm.

 

[OriginalShroom]

I have carried every day since the day of my mugging.

The only exception is when I had to fly home to attend my brother's funeral. Honestly, I felt naked without that weight.

I have had to pull my gun on another person twice in my life, and have never had to fire it.

The one time I would have shot, I didn't have it with me. I was lucky to escape the situation without serious injuries that day.

Now if you see me, you can bet your last dollar that there is a gun with arms reach of me.

 

[Spoonman]

I've always shot targets for fun. I never really thought of owning a gun as self defense. but I agree, things have changed, the world has changed. you just don't know anymore. and when trouble arises the police are not necessarily going to be an option. I hope I never need to use a gun in self defense. but at least I know I have that option.

 

[Spoonman]

I think the fact that gun ownership is way up. there are more and more guns, more and more people owning guns, but gun violence is dropping. it really speaks a lot to the fact that people owning guns is not the issue. if it was, more guns would mean more violence. but just the opposite is happening. more guns are resulting in less violence. you look at other facts. states and cities with the toughest gun laws have the highest gun violence. 5 out of 6 homicides with a gun occur in the 25 states with the strictest gun laws. 1 of 6 happens in the states with the little to no gun control laws. of all the guns in the USA only .000036 ever commit a homicide. a very, very small percentage. so small in fact, if it wasn't a political agenda item, it would never even merit any attention. if you expand this logic to the deadly assault weapons that are being blown so far out of proportion the percentage drops down to .0000011. it is amazing that such a minority impact the total so greatly. something is really wrong with that picture

 

[HomeInspect]

The media doesn't want these stats out... they wouldn't be able to create a crisis. Funny how guns sale have soared since the socialist in chief has been in office, yet gun crimies have fallen

Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware | Pew Social & Demographic Trends

 

[francoHFW]

There IS a whacko with an assault weapon problem. That's why a huge majority of the country wants background checks...

 

[Little-Acorn]

There IS a whacko with an assault weapon problem.

More people have been struck by lightning, than have committed crimes with so-called "assault weapons".

But if you're wondering why so many people think gun crime is increasing when it's actually decreasing, look no farther than whackos like little francohfw, who in this very thread is trying to convince people that there is an "assault weapon" problem when there isn't.

(Next, wait for him to react in screaming outrage, point out the few times a so-called "assault weapon" has been used in a crime (without mentioning that such events are scarcer than blue moons), and accuse conservatives of "not caring" because they refuse to disarm large segments of the law-abiding population as though that would do anything to stop the tiny number of murderers)

It is hysterics like him, who have created the subject of this thread: people who mistake him for a credible source, and take his word that gun problems are worse than they are.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Arming against a fascist government that thinks it can take our rights away. Why would you be against the people doing this unless you're for that government?

 

[Saigon]

Arming against a fascist government that thinks it can take our rights away. Why would you be against the people doing this unless you're for that government?

Because you know it's based on paranoid delusions fed to you by people who make money out of your fear.

As much as people are triumphing the fall in gun crime - still 50,000 Americans will be deliberately shot this year.

Spoon-

but gun violence is dropping. it really speaks a lot to the fact that people owning guns is not the issue.

And yet the US has 20 times as many guns as the UK - and 20 times as many gun-related homicides. Or do you think that is coincidence?

 

[HomeInspect]

Arming against a fascist government that thinks it can take our rights away. Why would you be against the people doing this unless you're for that government?

Because you know it's based on paranoid delusions fed to you by people who make money out of your fear.

As much as people are triumphing the fall in gun crime - still 50,000 Americans will be deliberately shot this year.

Spoon-

but gun violence is dropping. it really speaks a lot to the fact that people owning guns is not the issue.

And yet the US has 20 times as many guns as the UK - and 20 times as many gun-related homicides. Or do you think that is coincidence?

That's because it is "people violence" not "gun vilolence"... objects can't be vilolent. Lees that 3 % of shootings in this country happen with so called assault style weapons. It's all about control.. and feel good BS.

 

[Saigon]

objects can't be vilolent.

And yet the rate of successful suicides higher with guns than with any other form of suicide?

Thus, objects enable violence, don't they?

 

[The Rabbi]

objects can't be vilolent.

And yet the rate of successful suicides higher with guns than with any other form of suicide?

Thus, objects enable violence, don't they?

That's nonsense, typical for you. Any more than cars enable drunk driving. Or spoons enable obesity.

As to the OP, more people are armed because more people have the opportunity to be. 20 years ago FL was the first state to pass Shall Issue carry laws. Today over 30 states have them. Indeed, only IL remains without any provision for a private citizen to carry a firearm. So people like to exercise their rights, thus more guns sold to more gun owners (I guess the meme of more guns for fewer owners has gone away).

The stats here don't matter. If there is one home invasion in an entire city that is statistically meaningless. Unless it is your home. Then it means the world.

 

[Saigon]

Rabbi -

Actually, no, it makes perfect sense. Guns do not cause violence - they ENABLE violence. In other words, they allow people who may wish to commit violence to do so more successfully.

That is why countries with more guns have more morders, of course.

The stats here don't matter.

Well, obviously they do - but what you mean is that they do not back up your case, hence you ignore them.

 

[The Rabbi]

Rabbi -

Actually, no, it makes perfect sense. Guns do not cause violence - they ENABLE violence. In other words, they allow people who may wish to commit violence to do so more successfully.

That is why countries with more guns have more morders, of course.

The stats here don't matter.

Well, obviously they do - but what you mean is that they do not back up your case, hence you ignore them.

Actually that isn't true either. Japan has a high suicide rate but no guns to speak of. Etc etc. This has been debunked many times. It is an issue of culture, not gun ownership.
The stats don't matter to an individual's decision to go armed because he doesn't want to end up as a statistic. Sorry that wasn't clear enough for you.

 

[Saigon]

Rabbi -

Please try to stick to what is posted. I did not claim that countries with a lot of guns have high suicide rates.

 

[rdean]

Actually, I changed my position. Since studies have shown that 2/3rds of the more than 30,000 gun related deaths are suicides, most are in Red State and are white guys, you can bet, most gun deaths are Republicans.

Perhaps they aren't getting enough support?

 

[jon_berzerk]

With gun violence down, is America arming against an imagined threat?

With gun violence down, is America arming against an imagined threat?
A Pew study released Tuesday finds that Americans think gun violence has escalated when in reality it's way down from two decades ago. The violence has dropped, meanwhile, even as gun ownership has increased.


Mass shootings, frantic gun-buying, and more Americans legally carrying guns on the street all point to a country fighting a gun violence epidemic, right?

Not necessarily.

As part of a broader trend of declining crime, gun violence in America – while still high relative to other Western countries – has dropped by 49 percent from 1993 to 2011, while nonfatal gun crimes dropped by 69 percent, according to the US Justice Department.

take out the areas with leftist strict gun control laws

and the number drops way down

wise up America we do not have a gun problem

we have a leftist problem