Gun violence in US has fallen dramatically over past 20 years

[regulator 0]

Someone must be sick over at MSNBC to release reports like this one...


Gun violence in America has fallen dramatically over the past two decades, and the number of murders committed with a firearm is down too, though guns are still by far the leading type of crime weapon, according to a new report from the Justice Department.

As for where crime guns came from, the study notes that less than two percent of convicted inmates reported buying their weapons at gun shows or flea markets. The highest number, 40 percent, said the guns came from a family member or a friend. About 37 percent said the weapons were stolen or obtained from an illegal source. The rest say the guns were bought at a retail store or pawn shop.

Murders committed with a gun dropped 39 percent to 11,101 in 2011, from a high of 18,253 in 1993, according to the report.

Other crimes committed with guns were down even more sharply — from 1.53 million in 1993 to 467,300 in 2011, a drop of 70 percent, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Around 70 percent of murders were committed with a firearm, and of those, the vast majority involved a handgun -- fluctuating between 70-80 percent.
The report is strictly factual and offers no analysis about the reasons for the decline in gun violence

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/07/18108298-gun-violence-in-us-has-fallen-dramatically-over-past-20-years-justice-dept-report-finds#comments

[wmw999 2,602]

Quote

Someone must be sick over at MSNBC to release reports like this one...

Good journalism, like good science, accepts that information is what it is, and that if theories are weakened or disproven, one still shouldn't ignore facts and data.

As far as the data, well, if violent crime as a whole has been going down for the last 20 years, it's not surprising that gun violence has also been going down.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Gravitymaster 0]

Gun purchases going up, crime going down.

[wmw999 2,602]

Correlation does not prove causality.
Other things that have gone up:
internet connections (they're too busy surfing the web)
obesity (more people are too fat to commit crimes)
cell phone possession (would-be criminals can call their friends to talk them out of it)

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[BillyVance 35]

wmw999

Quote

Someone must be sick over at MSNBC to release reports like this one...

Good journalism, like good science, accepts that information is what it is, and that if theories are weakened or disproven, one still shouldn't ignore facts and data.

As far as the data, well, if violent crime as a whole has been going down for the last 20 years, it's not surprising that gun violence has also been going down.

Wendy P.

Except in certain places... like Chicago, where their gun control laws aren't having much of an effect on the inner city shooting rates.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[rushmc 23]

BillyVance

***

Quote

Someone must be sick over at MSNBC to release reports like this one...

Good journalism, like good science, accepts that information is what it is, and that if theories are weakened or disproven, one still shouldn't ignore facts and data.

As far as the data, well, if violent crime as a whole has been going down for the last 20 years, it's not surprising that gun violence has also been going down.

Wendy P.

Except in certain places... like Chicago, where their gun control laws aren't having much of an effect on the inner city shooting rates.

17 of the 20 states with the highest gun deaths per capita are Democraticly controled states with the most restrictive gun laws

Go figure

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Gravitymaster 0]

wmw999

Correlation does not prove causality.
Other things that have gone up:
internet connections (they're too busy surfing the web)
obesity (more people are too fat to commit crimes)
cell phone possession (would-be criminals can call their friends to talk them out of it)

Wendy P.

So criminals have become too fat and lazy to commit crimes?

Actually, you might have a point considering all the internet crime. Perhaps we need background checks in order to purchase a computer.

[BillyVance 35]

rushmc

******

Quote

Someone must be sick over at MSNBC to release reports like this one...

Good journalism, like good science, accepts that information is what it is, and that if theories are weakened or disproven, one still shouldn't ignore facts and data.

As far as the data, well, if violent crime as a whole has been going down for the last 20 years, it's not surprising that gun violence has also been going down.

Wendy P.

Except in certain places... like Chicago, where their gun control laws aren't having much of an effect on the inner city shooting rates.

17 of the 20 states with the highest gun deaths per capita are Democraticly controled states with the most restrictive gun laws

Go figure

Yep, not surprised.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[rushmc 23]

Gravitymaster

***Correlation does not prove causality.
Other things that have gone up:
internet connections (they're too busy surfing the web)
obesity (more people are too fat to commit crimes)
cell phone possession (would-be criminals can call their friends to talk them out of it)

Wendy P.

So criminals have become too fat and lazy to commit crimes?

Actually, you might have a point considering all the internet crime. Perhaps we need background checks in order to purchase a computer.

Hmmm

I think some peoples mouths should be registered before they can be allowed to speak

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[BillyVance 35]

rushmc

******Correlation does not prove causality.
Other things that have gone up:
internet connections (they're too busy surfing the web)
obesity (more people are too fat to commit crimes)
cell phone possession (would-be criminals can call their friends to talk them out of it)

Wendy P.

So criminals have become too fat and lazy to commit crimes?

Actually, you might have a point considering all the internet crime. Perhaps we need background checks in order to purchase a computer.

Hmmm

I think some peoples mouths should be registered before they can be allowed to speak

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Kennedy 0]

Gun crime has plunged, but Americans think it's up, says study

I'm much more concerned with this aspect. Gun crime has been dropping, but folks think its going up. Kind of hard to make good electoral decisions when you have no freaking idea what's going on.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[regulator 0]

I wonder if it has to do something with the way the government has been trying to ramrod gun control down everyones throats and the president has been parading the newtown victims families like a new coat. The liberal media has articles almost every day on guns and many sheeple would believe the ocean is made out of orangutan semen if joe biden or lawrence o'donnell said so.

[kallend 2,182]

BillyVance

***

Quote

Someone must be sick over at MSNBC to release reports like this one...

Good journalism, like good science, accepts that information is what it is, and that if theories are weakened or disproven, one still shouldn't ignore facts and data.

As far as the data, well, if violent crime as a whole has been going down for the last 20 years, it's not surprising that gun violence has also been going down.

Wendy P.

Except in certain places... like Chicago, where their gun control laws aren't having much of an effect on the inner city shooting rates.

Murders down 25% in Chicago so far this year.

Fortunately for regular folks, it's mostly these guys who are offing each other.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kallend 2,182]

Kennedy

Gun crime has plunged, but Americans think it's up, says study

I'm much more concerned with this aspect. Gun crime has been dropping, but folks think its going up. Kind of hard to make good electoral decisions when you have no freaking idea what's going on.

What do you expect when the Congress (at the urging of the NRA) essentially shut down all research on gun violence over a decade ago?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[regulator 0]

With over 500 murders in chicago alone I would hope there would be a visable decline in murders, but at the same time if its just gangbangers why cant they open up soldier field... and fill the stadium with rival gangs, then let them kill each other off...then the next year would be a good litmus test to see what the actual number of people murdered that werent in gangs...because the previous year most of them offed themselves already. Problem solved.

[Gravitymaster 0]

kallend

******

Quote

Someone must be sick over at MSNBC to release reports like this one...

Good journalism, like good science, accepts that information is what it is, and that if theories are weakened or disproven, one still shouldn't ignore facts and data.

As far as the data, well, if violent crime as a whole has been going down for the last 20 years, it's not surprising that gun violence has also been going down.

Wendy P.

Except in certain places... like Chicago, where their gun control laws aren't having much of an effect on the inner city shooting rates.

Murders down 25% in Chicago so far this year.

Fortunately for regular folks, it's mostly these guys who are offing each other.

Exactly, let them kill each other. Maybe the Justice Dept. should have a domestic Fast & Furious Operation.

[kallend 2,182]

regulator

With over 500 murders in chicago alone I would hope there would be a visable decline in murders, but at the same time if its just gangbangers why cant they open up soldier field... and fill the stadium with rival gangs, then let them kill each other off...then the next year would be a good litmus test to see what the actual number of people murdered that werent in gangs...because the previous year most of them offed themselves already. Problem solved.

Sounds good to me.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Kennedy 0]

kallend

***Gun crime has plunged, but Americans think it's up, says study

I'm much more concerned with this aspect. Gun crime has been dropping, but folks think its going up. Kind of hard to make good electoral decisions when you have no freaking idea what's going on.

What do you expect when the Congress (at the urging of the NRA) essentially shut down all research on gun violence over a decade ago?

Incorrect, as evidenced by the study referenced in the OP. Congress shut down funding for CDC to run politically motivated, predetermined-results based research. Plenty of folks at universities still study and publish. Care to try again without incorrect information or unnecessary bashing of the NRA?

And to be honest, do you need congress to tell you something in order to know something?

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[regulator 0]

I'm not 100% sure this was in chicago. But it sounded like chicago was mentioned over the radio. If this truly is in Chicago, then stupid ass cops like this are probably part of the reason there are so many murders there.

I mean what kind of dumbass places a perp in the backseat NOT handcuffed and NOT searched?

Idiots...all three of them.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/83278957/

[toolbox 0]

>Gun purchases going up,crime going down.

Funny how that works isn't it.
But some say that an armed society is a polite society.

[wmw999 2,602]

Quote

17 of the 20 states with the highest gun deaths per capita are Democraticly controled states with the most restrictive gun laws

I'm not sure where you got that data.
The chart in here, sourced from FBI data, seems to indicate otherwise. When sorted by the "gun murder per capita" column, I get 7 blue states, 9 red states, and 4 "mixed" states (mixed because they vary from election to election). Colors are based on the last 4 elections.

So actually, it looks kind of balanced to me.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[jclalor 12]

Quote

As for where crime guns came from, the study notes that less than two percent of convicted inmates reported buying their weapons at gun shows or flea markets. The highest number, 40 percent, said the guns came from a family member or a friend. About 37 percent said the weapons were stolen or obtained from an illegal source. The rest say the guns were bought at a retail store or pawn shop.

Yet background checks between family and friends are a bad idea.

[ryoder 1,590]

kallend

[
Murders down 25% in Chicago so far this year.

Fortunately for regular folks, it's mostly these guys who are offing each other.

Asian gangs:
#4 Hop Sing

Naming a gang after the Cartwight family's cook. I like it!

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Kennedy 0]

Quote

Murders down 25% in Chicago so far this year.

Fortunately for regular folks, it's mostly these guys who are offing each other.

So, since complete bans like drug prohibition works SO WELL, and most gun violence only affects criminals anyway, why push for more gun control laws? If a complete ban won't stop criminals from being criminals, what is the point of screwing with all citizens?

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[BillyVance 35]

regulator

With over 500 murders in chicago alone I would hope there would be a visable decline in murders, but at the same time if its just gangbangers why cant they open up soldier field... and fill the stadium with rival gangs, then let them kill each other off...then the next year would be a good litmus test to see what the actual number of people murdered that werent in gangs...because the previous year most of them offed themselves already. Problem solved.

And put it on PPV, guaranteed payout bigger than Wrestlemania, boxing and MMA events combined!

Kind of like the football stadium brawl in the movie The Wanderers combined with the movie The Condemned, which was about 10 condemned killers bought from a corrupt prison and let loose on an island with the stated goal that only 1 would emerge alive, with all the action on PPV.

ETA: actually, I think all 10 were supposed to die anyway.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban