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Posted on 07/17/2013 8:31:54 AM PDT by marktwain
Late last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the homicide rate for those 10 to 24 years of age has hit a 30-year low. Let’s credit USA TODAY for running an article on this news while acknowledging that this report was lost in the tireless news coverage of the George Zimmerman trial verdict.
One of the cable news networks may have put an expert on air about the positive results of this study, but I doubt it. There’s not much drama in statistics, after all, especially those showing that things are safer.
The CDC study echoed similar findings from the U.S. Department of Justice released in May that reported a 39 percent decrease in firearms-related homicides and a 69 percent decrease in non-fatal crimes involving firearms since 1993. The Pew Research Center at about the same time reported survey results that show most Americans are unaware that crime involving the use of firearms is lower today than it was 20 years ago. Only 12 percent of our population knew such crime has declined.
This has occurred even as firearms ownership has become more widespread. We have seen dramatic increases in firearms sales since 2008. More guns have not resulted in more crime. But with crime saturated media stories, who can blame the public for being misled?
The lower homicide rate reported by CDC last week was seen across all racial and ethnic groups, although it was falling at a slower rate for African-American youths, who continue to kill each other in heartbreaking numbers. We can all agree that more must be done to address this ongoing societal problem and the report offers multiple approaches including police tactics focused on gang activity and repeat offenders and school programs that help youth turn away from violence as socially acceptable for conflict resolution.
We know, of course, that cities such as Chicago with the toughest gun control laws also tend to have the highest violent crime rates. Yet, in the wake of the not-guilty verdict in the Zimmerman case and its clear inapplicability to the causes of most urban violence, some opportunistic politicians are stepping forward to renew the call for more gun control.
While media attention focuses on dramatic but aberrant cases, we must continue to promote policy-making based on facts, not distractions such as focusing on lawful firearms owners in a misbegotten effort to “do something,” which actually does nothing to address violence in our cities. And, as our industry has proven through multiple programs over many years, such as Project ChildSafe and Don’t Lie for the Other Guy, we continue to provide meaningful solutions toward helping prevent access to guns by unauthorized individuals. Our FixNICS initiative is making forward progress to make states enter all appropriate records, including adjudicated mental health records, into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Violent crimes have decreased meaningfully and the public needs to know this. Solving long-term societal problems that have multiple causes requires perspective and multiple solutions. We are stepping up to do our part based on our knowledge and expertise while respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens. Others should do the same.
An crime rates continue to fall.
More guns, less crime.
"It seems to me that you have dissed me. That means I get to kill you. Dats the rule."
Yeah, maybe that attitude should change.
Do these numbers include Chicago?????????????
And the study once again proves that black on black crime is a much larger problem than white on black crimes.
My sheriff told me to my face that our county is at a 40 year low in violent crime and it is almost at the lowest since they started keeping statistics. I am two counties away from Sanford, FL.
Cameras are helping to. The odds of getting away with a crime have dropped and more criminals are behind bars.
Cameras are helping to. The odds of getting away with a crime have dropped and more criminals are behind bars.
It is pretty clear that many more white people are murdered by black people than black people are murdered by white people.
This is a good indication of the lack of objective white “racisim”.
The propensity to law & order functions on similar dynamic principles as the free market. The more individual responsibility among the law abiding elements, the safer the public & better the economy. The objective should be to see that the law abiding are always better armed than the law avoiding.
Put another way, it is why Switzerland has worked well for Centuries, prosperous, free & peaceful.
And see Missing Link To An Armed Citizenry.
William Flax
What’s the murder total of whites killed by blacks after the Zimmerman acquittal? I know two teenagers with “free Zimmerman” bumper sticker will killed that very weekend in florida. The brothers are out polar bear hunting.
Because our prison population is at an all-time high.
Which again is being attacked as racism.
Everyone with an ounce of honesty knows that blacks are far more dangerous than whites.
Exactly. We don’t go out looking to kill a crazy @$$ N-word, to get even for some Imagined wrong doing. But there ar bros out there with hate and violence on their mind and the race baiters and MSM are to blame.
My thoughts exactly. Most of the homicides are certainly in Cook County.
Well, that’s inconvenient. The lefty do-gooders will have to do something to change that.
They need a certain level of violence in this country.
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