nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

Second Amendment: Gun Crime Is Way Down

Given the recent clamoring from Barack Obama and his cadres on gun violence, you would think violent crime levels were astronomical relative to past decades. Far from it. In fact, the latest statistics from the FBI reveal a substantial decline. Unsurprisingly, the mainstream media and this administration dedicated to gun confiscation have greeted the encouraging news with deafening silence.

With gun ownership in American at an all-time high, violent crime, according to the FBI's most recent national crime report, is at its lowest level in more than four decades. The rate of homicides in which murderers use guns has decreased almost 50%, from a high of 6.62 per 100,000 to 3.27 in 2012.

But why are mass shootings rising, you ask? A recent Wall Street Journal report helps explain one of the primary reasons: "One theory is the proliferation of public areas where guns are outlawed. 'Since 1950, almost every single public shooting in the United States in which more than three people have been killed has taken place in what are commonly known as "gun-free zones,"' reports the Washington Examiner. Recent shootings at schools and movie theaters illustrate this point. The Navy Yard shooting is another example. A policy implemented 20 years ago effectively banned people other than security guards from carrying guns on military bases. The shooters go where it's less likely that someone will fire back."

Imagine that: It's leftist policies that are behind the overall rise. The Left's fantasy "gun-free zones" effectively encourage perpetrators to pick the point of least resistance.

Lazy Old Coot Loc: Gainesville, Florida

Of course, the other side of that coin is that there are many times more people murdered by gunfire, one or two at a time, than are killed in the mass shootings that take place in gun free zones. So yes, I guess you can say gun free zones don't work very well, but even if you eliminate them, you still have tens of thousands murdered by gunfire that would still be alive if we could have found a way to identify unstable folks and keep guns out of their hands. To my mind, there's nothing wrong with using background checks except that the database we are using is full of holes that can only be filled when all of the states fulfill all of their reporting duties. ....... Coot

tommyf Loc: Vero Beach, FL

Check this out:

http://mobile.rawstory.com/therawstory/#!/entry/arizona-man-accidentally-shoots-and-kills-girlfriend-while-hugging-her,524c3a36da27f5d9d02bd012

Lazy Old Coot Loc: Gainesville, Florida

All I got was a blank black screen? ... Coot

MIKE GALLAGHER Loc: New Zealand

nimbushopper - good point there. The situation wouldn't exist if all the kids were allowed to take their guns to school.
Mike

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

I didn't see that suggestion anywhere.