Virginia: More Guns Does Not Mean More Crime

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BarryLee

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The Richmond Times-Dispatch is reporting that in 2012 there was a 16 percent increase in gun sales while violent gun crime decreased by 5 percent in the same period. Obviously we’ve discussed in the past the difficulty and even danger of trying to draw a direct correlation between the two. However, it does show that an increase in gun sales has not turned Virginia into the “old west”.

Virginia Commonwealth University Professor Thomas R. Baker stated, “This appears to be additional evidence that more guns don't necessarily lead to more crime. It's a quite interesting trend given the current rhetoric about strengthening gun laws and the presumed effect it would have on violent crimes. While you can't conclude from this that tougher laws wouldn't reduce crime even more, it really makes you question if making it harder for law-abiding people to buy a gun would have any effect on crime."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/04/virginia-gun-crime-drops-as-firearms-sales-soar/?test=latestnews
 
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BUT BUT BUT.... BLOOD IN THE STREETS!

In 1994 Jim Brady assured us there would be blood in the streets!

What shocked me about that article is the quote from Wilder. He's the guy who pushed through the 1 gun a month in Virginia, ostentatiously to cut crime, and overall he's been no friend to the gunowner at any time.

I really would have expected something a lot more negative from him about the numbers.
 
Uh, wait a second...

Douglas Wilder is NOT quoted in that article...

It's this guy: "This appears to be additional evidence that more guns don't necessarily lead to more crime," said Thomas R. Baker, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs..."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/0...rms-sales-soar/?test=latestnews#ixzz2b73lVY12


And, of course, Josh Horowitz tries to push the discussion back to ZOMG!!! GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE! GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE!
 
Also

From today’s Times Dispatch “Looking back over seven years, total firearm sales in Virginia have risen a staggering 101 percent from 2006 to 2012, while gun-related crime has dropped 28 percent during that period.”
 
Blood in the streets.

Don't you just get tired of this canard?

That's what MN legislators predicted would happen if concealed carry was passed in MN. The ones against it passed around a flak jacket before taking the podium to speak against it and more than one vowed never to shop in an establishment that didn't have the 'we ban guns' sign posted.

Of course they were wrong.
 
It's the standard emotional appeal that is used just about any time that less restrictive gun laws are discussed.

The antis have been predicting it for years, and it has NEVER come to fruition.

The closest thing they've really ever gotten, really, has been the Treyvon Martin/George Zimmerman fiasco.
 
Violent crime has a far stronger correlation to unemployment and under employment. Guns are irrelevant.

The closest thing they've really ever gotten, really, has been the Treyvon Martin/George Zimmerman fiasco.
Click to expand...

Just as an aside, I don't see any fiasco in this case - just some folks trying to make political hay with it.
 
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Don't start discussing Trayvon again in detail! Mike's point was that it was brought up as a vigilante killing, etc. We don't need to rehash whether it was or wasn't.

The point about the economic causes of crime are well taken!
 
"just some folks trying to make political hay with it."

That's why it's a fiasco.

It's most commonly being used to pillory the Stand Your Ground laws, and it had nothing to do with that.
 
Wyoredman said:
The very first line of the article. Why is that "unique"?
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It's not "unique." Unfortunately, the writer doesn't have a clue that the word "unique" means "one-of-a-kind," but is using it as a synonym for "interesting." This use of "unique" is a spreading plague on the English language.

One would hope that a "reporter" would be able to use words correctly, since they are tools of his trade. But, of course, one would also hope that said reporter would be able to do the research to inform the reader that there is plenty of precedent for the phenomenon on which he is reporting and that's apparently not the case either. :rolleyes:
 
I am glad that I decreased violent crime in 2012. I am working on 2013, with the purchase of my first AR and AK .
 
"It's not "unique." Unfortunately, the writer doesn't have a clue that the word "unique" means "one-of-a-kind," but is using it as a synonym for "interesting."

An accepted, but informal and not commonly used, definition for unique is not typical, unusual, or very remarkable.

In other words, while an odd usage, it's a correct usage.


"This use of "unique" is a spreading plague on the English language."

Holy crap... :rolleyes: Hyperbolize much?

English is a largely unmoderated language that changes based on the needs and desires of its users.

There are no language boards or official panels to limit and codify the language as there are in Iceland and France.

We speak a language that is considerably different from that spoken in the United Kingdom because the the same language has undergone dramatically different influences over the past 300 years.

But, if it really upsets you, maybe we could mandate that everyone on the board speak ONLY 16th century Elizabethan English.
 
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Looks like our buddy Piers Morgan has once again stuck his nose into the debate or maybe his foot into his mouth. In a debate with A.W.R. Hawkins Piers responded to Mr. Hawkins point that the crime rate in Virginia had fallen even though gun sales increased by citing his own statistics.

Mr. Morgan asked Mr. Hawkins which state had the highest murder rate and when he didn’t know Piers responded, “Allow me to help you. Allow me to help you. It’s Virginia.” The only problem is that apparently Virginia is actually ranked 24th. Oh well why let those pesky facts get in the way when a little emotional outburst will do.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/15/cnn-piers-morgan-stats-linking-violent-crime-to-gun/?test=latestnews
 
The only problem is that apparently Virginia is actually ranked 24th.
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Yeah...um. Hm. There's no way I could conceivably massage any numbers I've seen to get Virginia even in the top ten.

Of course, that doesn't matter. The average viewer isn't going to research it; they're just going to remember Morgan's claim. That's what he counts on.

The plain fact is, Morgan has an agenda. He's not going to be convinced, and he's never going to admit he's wrong. He's going to use every so-called interview with a gun-rights advocate to turn the tables on us.

Frankly, I wouldn't go on his show if invited. In the words of a great admiral: it's a trap.
 
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