You know, the recent shooting in the Netherlands is proof that gun control measures will not work. Everyone's been saying that school shootings are a "uniquely American phenomenon" because of our lax gun laws. Dutch gun laws are far more strict than they are here, and yet school violence still happens.Truth is, school shootings are perpetuated by their sensationalized nature in the media. Every child who sees the attention that others are getting for their actions wants to emulate.
Consider the following column excerpted from the Los Angeles Daily News (June 5, 1998):
Advocates of gun control have been thrown into a tizzy. Instead of going after guns sold out of automobile trunks in the inner city, they are forced politically to deal with the hunting guns used by kids in the rural shootings
...
In 1992, 55 killings occurred in America's schools. In 1997 it was down to 25.
By contrast, 88 people were killed by lightning in 1997. Schiraldi [Director of the Center for Justice Policy Institute] says he hates to see rural schools start spending money on metal detectors and security guards instead of books.
"It's the functional equivalent of everyone buying lightning rods," he says.
...
Above all consider that while the homicide rate in the United States dropped 20 percent between 1992 and 1996, the number of homicides reported on network news increased by 721 percent.
It's good for ratings, even if it may be bad for the psyches of children, voters and politicians. Fear sells. Kids are impressionable and may become copycats. Adults are impressionable and may pass bad laws. "
I was exposed to guns all during my childhood. Never picked one up without permission, never put myself in a situation where I was in danger around guns. I was taught from the time I could walk that I wasn't to go into the closet at the end of the hall where the guns were kept. If I was ever caught there, I wouldn't be sitting for a few days. All of my friends recall a similar experience. I have never lost any friends to firearms deaths, accidental or otherwise.
Fact is, more people drown each year than are accidently killed by guns. In 1997, around 4000 people died from drowning, while 1500 were killed unintentionally with guns.
As far as homicides are concerned, the nationwide drop in intentional gun deaths (from 10 per 100,000 in 1990 to 7.4 in 1997) coincides perfectly with a trend toward LESS restrictive concealed carry laws. In other words, more guns are out there on the streets, and citizens are taking responsibility for their own self defense.
Furthermore, roughly 75% of those who DO commit homicides should have already been in jail because of a previous crime. And, despite what people may say, concealed weapons permits don't cause crimes either...consider the following:
David Kopel, Research Director at the Independence Institute comments on Florida's concealed carry experience:
"What we can say with some confidence is that allowing more people to carry guns does not cause an increase in crime. In Florida, where 315,000 permits have been issued, there are only five known instances of violent gun crime by a person with a permit. This makes a permit-holding Floridian the cream of the crop of law-abiding citizens, 840 times less likely to commit a violent firearm crime than a randomly selected Floridian without a permit." ("More Permits Mean Less Crime..." Los Angeles Times, Feb. 19, 1996, Monday, p. B-5)
Also, in the area of school violence:
"Less that 1% of all homicides among school-aged children (5-19 years of age) occur in or around school grounds or on the way to and from school." (CDC, Facts About Violence Among Youth and Violence in Schools. May 21, 1998)
All facts, unless otherwise noted, came from www.guncite.com
Visit my website...The Animal Exploitation Page (www.exploiters.org)
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