executive order on gun laws

smerka

The crime rate is down in Chicago but gun crimes are up. I really don't think it is fair or wise to include Chicago in the debate. It is a gang problem. They are getting their guns illegally from Mexico as part of the drug trade. And Obama's executive order isn't going to make a dent in that problem.

smerka

Here's the article. http://abc7chicago.com/news/chicago-shootings-murders-up-for-august-2015/964866/

vlagrl29

BlueBirdMB said:

Actually, as a country, we're at historical low violent crime rates... I couldn't believe it when I read that.  What does that say about how the news is reported?  I know I thought that violent crime rates must be sky high considering what I hear about all day long.

yeah I read that too recently and was totally shocked.

MommyLiberty5013

vlagrl29 said:

BlueBirdMB said:

Actually, as a country, we're at historical low violent crime rates... I couldn't believe it when I read that.  What does that say about how the news is reported?  I know I thought that violent crime rates must be sky high considering what I hear about all day long.

yeah I read that too recently and was totally shocked.

Good point. I've been doing some at-home learning about conceal carry and the instructor in the DVD series agrees that crime is at an all time low. However, he said we need to actually look at the incarceration and probation rates, which are both sky rocketing. Prisons are past max capacity. It's why we're seeing many sentences being commuted and also many people just being released. States and localities don't have the funds to build more prisons and to adequately staff the ones we have. He also points out that it's only murder if a person dies (sounds so obvious), so while murder rates have dropped, violent attacks/assaults have not necessarily declined. We have such advanced medical technology and skills now that we're able to save many people who decades ago would have died as victims to murder from their wounds. Now they are assault victims instead.

nkjacobsma

BlueBirdMB said:

Actually, as a country, we're at historical low violent crime rates... I couldn't believe it when I read that.  What does that say about how the news is reported?  I know I thought that violent crime rates must be sky high considering what I hear about all day long.

It's the availability heuristic. The way media reports everything in the United States is a huge contributing factor to our culture of paranoia. Example: many people are absolutely terrified of flying due to the possibility of crashing. I've literally met people who took a week to drive across the country to avoid a 6 hour flight. People are exponentially more likely to die in a car crash than a plane crash, but the media only reports on plane crashes so people think they happen far more often than they actually do.

short+sassy

I find the loopholes with guns appalling and shocking.  My office roommate and his buddy (another coworker) are avid hunters, but also own a lot of handguns.  They buy and sell their weapons on a somewhat regular basis to random people on Craig's List and various "sportsman" websites.  All legal.

Don't get me wrong.  They aren't bad people and are both responsible gun owners.  But its awful that anyone can buy a gun secondhand so easily.