America's gun culture in charts ( 08/05/2019 )
By: BBCWorld (BBC News)
An older article published after the mass shootings in El Paso, TX, and Dayton, OH. The article contains charts and data which aren't included here; click on the seed link to view the original article.
Pay attention to how the press is spreading misinformation and directing our attention in an unproductive direction. Yes, the facts that are presented are accurate. But the article leads us in the direction of focusing attention on mass shootings with high numbers of casualties so we focus attention on what is actually a very small part of the problem, as shown by the facts. Mass shootings like the one at the Walmart in El Paso make for compelling reporting that requires little journalistic effort; an easy and inexpensive story to cover. But the numbers show that these mass shootings that receive so much media attention (and political attention) amount to 0.5 pct of gun related homicides.
Also pay attention to the body bag reporting which is deliberately misleading. Recent studies have found that about one third of shooting victims die. Reporting that 14,000 people died obscures the fact the 40,000 people were shot. And the press is not reporting that gun related crime rates in urban areas are 2 to 4 times higher than in rural areas. Those facts don't even receive a passing acknowledgment.
The article ends by pointing a finger at NRA lobbying as the obstacle preventing gun control. Are we expected to believe that the Congress of the United States can be bought for $5 million?!?!?!? No wonder the NRA can get away with the asinine abject stupidity of its public relations campaigns. The press is even more stupid than the NRA!
The United States is experiencing combat level numbers of casualties each and every year. More people are being killed per decade in the United States than the number of soldiers killed in Vietnam. And the casualty rate is even higher. The Vietnam war is happening now, today, in our own cities. Our own people are causing more causalities than all the terrorist attacks on the United States. When do we finally acknowledge that the people of the United States are in an unwinnable war with themselves?
What the press is doing is dishonest and shameful. What our law makers, on both sides of the aisle, are doing is criminal. The public deserves better. We should be demanding more from our public institutions and our law makers.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Published 5 August 2019
Two mass shootings within 24 hours, leaving 31 people dead, has once again brought the spotlight on gun ownership in the United States.
An attack on a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas on Saturday left 20 dead, while nine died in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday.
But where does America stand on the right to bear arms and gun control?
What do young people think about gun control?
When looking at the period before the Parkland school shooting in 2018, it is interesting to track how young people have felt about gun control.
Support for gun control over the protection of gun rights in America is highest among 18 to 29-year-olds, according to a study by the Pew Research Centre, with a spike after the Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016. The overall trend though suggests a slight decrease in support for gun control over gun rights since 2000.
Pew found that one third of over-50s said they owned a gun. The rate of gun ownership was lower for younger adults - about 28%. White men are especially likely to own a gun.
How does the US compare with other countries?
About 40% of Americans say they own a gun or live in a household with one, according to a 2017 survey, and the rate of murder or manslaughter by firearm is the highest in the developed world. There were almost 11,000 deaths as a result of murder or manslaughter involving a firearm in 2017.
Homicides are taken here to include murder and manslaughter. The FBI separates statistics for what it calls justifiable homicide, which includes the killing of a criminal by a police officer or private citizen in certain circumstances, which are not included.
In about 13% of cases, the FBI does not have data on the weapon used. By removing these cases from the overall total of gun deaths in the US, the proportion of gun-related killings rises to 73% of homicides.
Who owns the world's guns?
While it is difficult to know exactly how many guns civilians own around the world, by every estimate the US with more than 390 million is far out in front.
Switzerland and Finland are two of the European countries with the most guns per person - they both have compulsory military service for all men over the age of 18. The Finnish interior ministry says about 60% of gun permits are granted for hunting - a popular pastime in Finland. Cyprus and Yemen also have military service.
How do US gun deaths break down?
There have been more than 110 mass shootings in the US since 1982, according to investigative magazine Mother Jones.
Up until 2012, a mass shooting was defined as when an attacker had killed four or more victims in an indiscriminate rampage - and since 2013 the figures include attacks with three or more victims. The shootings do not include killings related to other crimes such as armed robbery or gang violence.
The overall number of people killed in mass shootings each year represents only a tiny percentage of the total number.
Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there were a total of more than 38,600 deaths from guns in 2016 - of which more than 22,900 were suicides. Suicide by firearm accounts for almost half of all suicides in the US, according to the CDC.
A 2016 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found there was a strong relationship between higher levels of gun ownership in a state and higher firearm suicide rates for both men and women.
Attacks in US become deadlier
The Las Vegas attack in 2017 was the worst in recent US history - and eight of the shootings with the highest number of casualties happened within the past 10 years.
What types of guns kill Americans?
Military-style assault-style weapons have been blamed for some of the major mass shootings such as the attack in an Orlando nightclub and at the Sandy Hook School in Connecticut.
Dozens of rifles were recovered from the scene of the Las Vegas shooting, police reported.
A few US states have banned assault-style weapons, which were totally restricted for a decade until 2004.
However most murders caused by guns involve handguns, according to FBI data.
How much do guns cost to buy?
For those from countries where guns are not widely owned, it can be a surprise to discover that they are relatively cheap to purchase in the US.
Among the arsenal of weapons recovered from the hotel room of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock were handguns, which can cost from as little $200 (£151) - comparable to a Chromebook laptop.
Assault-style rifles, also recovered from Paddock's room, can cost from around $1,500 (£1,132).
In addition to the 23 weapons at the hotel, a further 19 were recovered from Paddock's home. It is estimated that he may have spent more than $70,000 (£52,800) on firearms and accessories such as tripods, scopes, ammunition and cartridges.
Who supports gun control?
US public opinion on the banning of handguns has changed dramatically over the last 60 years. Support has shifted over time and now a significant majority opposes a ban on handguns, according to polling by Gallup.
But a majority of Americans say they are dissatisfied with US gun laws and policies, and most of those who are unhappy want stricter legislation.
Some states have taken steps to ban or strictly regulate ownership of assault weapons. Laws vary by state but California, for example, has banned around 75 types and models of assault weapon.
Some controls are widely supported by people across the political divide - such as restricting the sale of guns to people who are mentally ill, or on "watch" lists.
But Republicans and Democrats are much more divided over other policy proposals, such as whether to allow ordinary citizens increased rights to carry concealed weapons - according to a survey from Pew Research Center.
Who opposes gun control?
The National Rifle Association (NRA) campaigns against all forms of gun control in the US and argues that more guns make the country safer.
It is among the most powerful special interest lobby groups in the US, with a substantial budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy.
In total, about one in five US gun owners say they are members of the NRA - and it has especially widespread support from Republican-leaning gun owners, according to Pew Research.
In terms of lobbying to influence gun policy, the NRA's spending jumped from about $3m per year to more than $5m in 2017.
The chart shows only the recorded contributions to lawmakers published by the Senate Office of Public Records.
The NRA spends millions more elsewhere, such as on supporting the election campaigns of political candidates who oppose gun controls.
Tags
Who is online
94 visitors
Don't piss on my shoes over Sandy Hook and tell me you're doing something. That's the lazy way to lie about doing nothing.
We deserve better from our public institutions and law makers. Don't let them get away with pissing on our shoes.
Owning guns exponentially increases the chances that you or those you love will suffer a gunshot. As life relates to guns, the safest course is to not personally own any...
The USA has more guns than people. If guns made us safer the USA would now be the safest place on earth.
We Are Not!
Then why isn't gun crime more prevalent in the military? If the answer was as simple as eliminating firearms then prisons would be the safest places on the planet.
Bumper sticker politics isn't addressing the problem.
The real problem is a predilection toward violence. Eliminating firearms won't eliminate the motivations to use violence to achieve some end.
Have you served? Approximately 75% of our 1.4 million are stationed state side and are living on or around bases
where they cannot carry weapons except as law enforcement or active training.
There used to be a zero tolerance policy in place which began changing in 2016 when conceal carry was approved by the Pentagon.
In 2020 they allowed qualified Military Police to carry personal weapons on to a different branch's base in the pursuit of their duty.
ie., NCIS agents on a USAF base can now carry.
US bases have traditionally been the most gun restrictive places to live and work.
Add to that the amount of gun safety training every member receives
and the common sense of wanting to keep one's job and reputation
and staying out of Leavenworth, most certainly dampens gun crime in the military.
Military service members are not allowed to privately own firearms? Civilian contractors are not allowed to privately own firearms?
As you note, service members and most civilian contractors live off base. On base restrictions don't apply past the gate.
The US military is the epitome of a gun culture. Yet, the crime statistics don't show that gun crime is more prevalent among active service members. While it's true that working on a military preserve is subject to severe restrictions on firearms, many service members (and most civilian contractors) live off the preserve in civilian communities. Why isn't gun crime more prevalent in those civilian communities?
If firearms and access to firearms was responsible for the prevalence of gun crimes then that should be apparent in communities surrounding military bases. It seems the bumper sticker politics of gun control advocacy is ignoring the facts and using misinformation to simply score political points.
Hate to rain on you but that's not what he said. SP said carry while on base unless you are military LEO or actively training with the firearm. When I served, we could not store our personal weapons in the barracks, they had to be stored with the SP's at the gun range and we had to sign them out to use them. As I understand it there are a lot of bases where you are not allowed to bring personal weapons on base at all. The rules are left up to the base commanders for the most part. Our base did allow for personal weapons, in fact there was even an annual deer hunt to control the population on base.
Yes, the attempt was to limit discussion to the military preserve. Military bases are separate jurisdictions with their own law enforcement. So, that information has very little value for addressing gun crime or for gun control legislation.
But military installations are surrounded by civilian communities where soldiers and contractors reside. Why isn't gun crime more prevalent in those communities?
Are you attempting to argue that military personnel should never be allowed to leave military bases and preserves? That's impractical and unrealistic. So, military service members are also engaged in activities under civilian jurisdictions. They may not carry military firearms off the base but they do take their gun culture with them when they go off base.
So why isn't that military gun culture readily identifiable in the crime statistics?
The point of gun control legislation is to apply military principles to the civilian population. Active service members are not allowed to have access to any firearm they choose. And active service members are severely restricted over when and where they can carry permitted firearms. Gun control legislation is intended to restrict access and use of firearms in the same manner as is done on military preserves.
My point is that active service members are not always on a military preserve. People in the military are allowed to privately own firearms of their choice. And active service members are allowed to use their privately owned firearms when they are off the preserve. Military personnel live in civilian communities. So, why isn't that reflected in the crime statistics?
Got ya, and I agree with where you are looking. To try to use gun control like they have in the past is similar to attempting to legislate morality, it just can't be done. I've asked in the past, if the true purpose of gun control legislation is to prevent gun crime, then why are they not pushing to eliminate private ownership of ALL guns and include a door to door search to insure they have collected all of them. Of course nobody on the left every bothers to answer that other than a deflect or ignore...
While I know that banning guns won't change anything out there, it would be nice if we could have an honest discussion about why this happens and what might actually help the situation.
trumpster terrorists can only operate in extremes, which is why I advocate dealing with them in the most extreme ways.
Thank you.
Banning assault rifles, for instance, for civilian use must include all civilian uses. Allowing government institutions to continue purchasing assault rifles means these types of firearms are still manufactured and available. Prohibiting only private individuals purchasing assault rifles is not a ban.
We are quickly approaching twice as many guns as people.
A lot of them are hoarded by people. I know one dude that has an arsenal.
I am not kidding, he probably has around 100 weapons.
I joked with him once that if there is ever a zombie apocalypse, I am heading to his house.
That is a misleading statement. There has been a proliferation of armed security in the United States following terrorist attacks and mass shootings. Law enforcement is carrying more firearms now. Private security companies providing armed security have proliferated. Schools have armed security. Essential infrastructure has armed security. Even transit cops are armed now.
The government has been deploying more firearms for enforcement activities.
It’s not just the guns. Americans are a murdering people.
Here, you can compare murder rates in the UK versus the US in the early 20th century before the UK started really limiting gun ownership. Even then, the US had a much higher murder rate. Good people shouldn’t have to be punished for the wrongdoings of others. We need to get down to the bottom of why so many Americans are - and have been - so much more inclined to commit murder than people in other countries.
And as usual, the GOP is completely silent, but...
31 certified cases of voter fraud in over 3 BILLION votes and they trip over themselves to pass 280+ laws to limit voting.
Just to emphasize where their priorities are.
go figure, eh? it's the political party that shelters white supremacists.
There have been 63 mass shootings in the first seven weeks of 2021. Gun control advocates are only addressing media attention to score political points.
Both parties are making ludicrous claims about voting as a distraction to deliberately lie to the public about doing absolutely nothing of importance.
I still have not received an answer as to why the rate (per hundred thousand) of gun deaths in Canada is ONE EIGTH the rate of gun deaths in the USA - believe it or not, Canadians are not much different than Americans.
You are the Canadian. You tell us how Canada deals with gun crime.
How does Canada deal with gun crime? By putting perpetuators in jail and making sure they never own a gun again. Now, instead of trying to change the subject, tell me why America's rate of gun deaths is eight times that of gun deaths in Canada.
This may explain it to an extent.
Canadians favour stricter gun control, mandatory buyback of banned firearms: Poll
Now, how do you explain that fact that gun crime in the USA is EIGHT TIMES what it is in Canada, rating the USA as being similar to third world primitive countries - or is that a question for which YOU HAVE NO ANSWER? Maybe a similar question could be asked about why America leads the whole world with Covid infections and deaths. America, the most advanced "leading" number one nation in the world -
There isn't any way to cite anything definitive. Keep in mind that the population size of Canada is smaller than the population size of California. The size of the population in the United States is almost nine times larger than the population size of Canada.
Population density does influence crime. Crime statistics really do show that urban crime rates are higher than rural crime rates. There was a spate of reporting that cities are safer than rural areas based on fatality rates resulting from crime and accidents but that suggests access to medical care accounts for that difference.
Large cities have the same sort of effect within the population as do large corporations within the economy. And we have seen how the Federal and state governments favor large metropolitan areas the same way large corporations have been favored. There are too-large-to-fail cities in the United States just as there are too-large-to-fail banks. The political incentives to favor large cities and large corporations are much the same.
There have been a number of studies that suggest urban sprawl results in a decline of social cohesion. Urban planning tends to focus attention on commercial interests and mobility (transportation, zoning, public services) which ends up dividing, separating, and segmenting the cityscape. The compartmentalization resulting from urban planning allows for stark disparities within large cities that segregates the population. An urban environment results in a heterogeneous population that does not interact socially. The decline in social cohesion associated with urban sprawl suggests that large cities in the United States are more divided and tribal than less densely populated areas.
So, why are gun homicides eight times higher than what it is Canada? Of course, I can only offer an opinion. Urbanization resulting in a decline of social cohesion. Tribalism increasing in large metropolitan areas. Inconsistent Federal and state government policies that highlight disparities and tribal distinctions within the population and economy. Increasing competition between large metropolitan areas without regard or consideration for influence on the country as a whole.
Crime is influenced by social structure and economic conditions. The disparities between segments of a population are just as, if not more, damaging than disparities between individuals. The political and economic institutions in the United States have compartmentalized the population which has diminished national social cohesion. The United States is competing with itself which can only escalate to increased levels of violence.
Thank you. According to your theories, I guess I'm pretty lucky to be living in a city-state of 32 million, about half of whom are urban, where there hasn't been a gun EVEN USED let alone a gun death for as long as I've known - where all those fancy sociological explanations are not required.
You're right, since there's another shooting every day - another day, another 4 people dead.
Shooting at California office building kills 4, including child
.
WELCOME TO AMERICA.....
At least 20 mass shootings have taken place in the two weeks since the metro Atlanta spa attacks left 8 dead
.
.
'Senseless violence': 3 dead, 4 more injured in shooting at North Carolina house party, police say
dead-police/7073850002/
Another day in America, another shooting, more people dead.
It isn't news any more. In America it would be news if there was a day when nobody was shot and killed.