Reply #37: Murders are just one form of violent crime ...

[spin]

However, I will grant that we have a higher rate of homicides than many other developed nations. It would also be fair to admit that the fact that we have much more access to firearms than other nations, contribute to this higher rate. However much of our homicide rate is caused by gang warfare. We could totally dry up the current supply of firearms in our country through bans and confiscations, but the gangs would still have access to firearms. If you can smuggle tons of marijuana into our country, smuggling firearms would be a minor inconvenience.

Gun involvement in homicides were gang related homicides which increased after 1980, homicides that occurred during the commission of a felony which increased from 55% in 1985 to 77% in 2005, homicides resulting from arguments which declined to the lowest levels recorded recently, and homicides resulting from other circumstances which remained relatively constant.Due to the fact that gang killing has become a normal part of inner cities, many including police, hold preconceptions about the causes of death in inner cities. When a death is labeled gang related it lowers the chances that it will be investigated and increases the chances that the perpetrator will remain at large. In addition, victims of gang killings often determine the priority a case will be given by police. Jenkins (1988) argues that many serial murder cases remain unknown to police and that cases involving Black offenders and victims are especially likely to escape official attention.<41>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States#Homicide

But even examining homicide data, our country has shown improvement in recent years at the same time the number of firearms in the country were increasing and "shall issue" concealed carry and now open carry have gained favor in our nation.

Long term trends and patterns

Homicide rates recently declined to levels last seen in the late 1960's

* The homicide rate nearly doubled from the mid 1960's to the late 1970's.

* In 1980, it peaked at 10.2 per 100,000 population and subsequently fell off to 7.9 per 100,000 in 1984.

* It rose again in the late 1980's and early 1990's to another peak in 1991 of 9.8 per 100,000.

* From 1992 to 2000, the rate declined sharply. Since then, the rate has been stable.

Key Facts at a Glance

Homicide rates recently declined to levels last seen in the mid-1960s



Note: The 2001 rate includes deaths attributed to the 9/11 terrorism attacks.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/glance/hmrt.cfm

I will still hold to my views that more guns does not cause more murders or more crime. I will also point out that many of the homicides in our country are caused by turf wars between drug gangs. If we had a more rational drug policy in our country, most of these murders would never occur. We might have fewer homicides by 100,000 than other countries with strict gun control.