Who is Doing All the Shooting?

In a recent post I made the claim that most of the incidents of gun violence are committed by lawful gun owners. Naturally this didn't go over very well with some of the commenters and I was asked to explain. Here it is.

According to the Department of Justice, which produced a number of surveys on this very question, we have the results of one of those surveys on Table 11, page 19 of this report.

Nearly 3 in 4 defendants with a conviction record, 43% of defendants overall, had at least one prior conviction for a felony (table 11). Thirty-five percent of defendants whose current charge was for a violent felony had previously been convicted of a felony. Murder (42%) and robbery(41%) defendants were about twice as likely as rape defendants (21%) to have a felony conviction record. Thirty-six percent of assault defendants had a prior felony conviction.

For murderers, the percentage who had prior felony convictions was 42%. This means very simply that 58% of the folks surveyed in this report, done by the DOJ, I remind you, were law-abiding gun owners until the moment they pulled the trigger.

Another even larger part of gun violence, often overlooked, is suicide. I don't understand why some people want to leave it out. To me a self-inflicted bullet to the brain is about as violent as it gets.

The Illinois Council against Handgun Violence understands this and has produced a useful fact sheet.

U.S. firearm suicide total was 17,002, an increase of 1.5% from 2004 national gun suicide numbers. The state of Illinois saw a nearly 10% INCREASE in gun suicides in that same time, from 387 in 2004 to 424 in 2005. Most suicides in the U.S. are committed with firearms.

More than half of all suicides in the U.S. are committed with firearms. In 2004, 52% of all suicides in the U.S. were committed with guns. In Illinois, guns suicides made up 39% of the total suicides for 2004.

Access to lethal means, especially firearms, greatly increases the likelihood that someone will commit suicide. A gun in the home is 11 times more likely to be used to attempt or commit a suicide than to be used in self-defense.

Taking these facts into consideration, there's only one thing we have to speculate about. No one seems to provide data on what percentage of gun suicides are committed by law-abiding gun owners and what percentage by criminals. What do you think those numbers would be? Would you say 50% / 50%? I don't think so. I'd say it's more like 80% lawful and 20% criminal.

The same type of speculation goes for gun accidents. I'm sure some criminals shoot themselves by accident, but I would imagine the largest percentage is among the lawful gun owners.

To sum up, when combining the number of murders committed by non-criminals, 58%, with the suicides committed by law-abiding gun owners, 80%, and the number of lethal accidents, let's say another 80%, you've got an overwhelming case for considering that, as shocking as it may sound, most gun violence is committed by law-abiding gun owners.

What's your opinion? How would you adjust those percentages? I realize other DOJ surveys showed other percentages, and the suicide and accident percentages are speculation, so what would you say?

Lethal Logic by Dennis A. Henigan, pp. 70, 71

Please leave a comment.

Family Slaughtered in Gwinnett Co. near Atlanta

The Associated Press reports on the Gwinnett County family slaughtered in their home.

When police responding to a 911 call banged on the door of a suburban Atlanta home, they were greeted by a 4-year-old girl in a blood-soaked shirt who said her whole family was dead, a neighbor said.

Gwinnett County police said 44-year-old Richard Ringold fatally shot two women, a man and an 11-year-old girl and injured the 4-year-old Thursday night. Police believe Ringold lived at the house and was the boyfriend of one of the women killed but were still investigating the motive and circumstances Friday, said spokeswoman Cpl. Illana Spellman.

I wonder if the police had more to go on than the fact that Richard Ringold lived there and was the boyfriend of one of the victims. In the two stories I've read about this case nothing else is mentioned. They do say he was arrested when he returned to the scene of the crime. But, I've never been a believer in the myth that the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime. How about you?

Police obtained an arrest warrant for Ringold on charges of murder and aggravated assault, Spellman said.

They put out an alert for Ringold and said he was armed and dangerous.

Ringold arrived at the home shortly after midnight Friday and was arrested."

He asked what we were doing and why we were looking for him," Spellman said.

I wish I could say I'm sure the police know what they're doing, but I'm afraid that's not what I think. What I wonder is if this could be the very first step in a twenty-year-long mistake that ends up with an innocent man being executed. I don't think Texas has a monopoly on that; they do it in Georgia too.

I wonder about the gun too. Like in many of these cases there's little focus on the gun. I suppose the police and the news reporters know better than to focus on an inanimate object. But, I'd like to know if the gun used was owned by the alleged shooter, if he owned it legally, if he had a concealed carry permit, etc., etc. Is that focusing too much on the gun, or is that focusing on the shooter who used the gun?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Surprise Time Capsule Found

The Des Moines Register reports on the unexpected find among the ruins of an old school being demolished.

Joel Semprini was as curious as he was shocked when the foreman of the crew tearing down the old Radcliffe school called last weekend with news that a treasure had been found in the rubble."They'd found the cornerstone of the building, and there was a copper box in it," said Semprini, superintendent of the Hubbard-Radcliffe schools. "The box was filled with things that were put there in 1915, when that school was built. Nobody had any idea it was there. I couldn't wait to get a look at what was in it."

Always a "copper box," doesn't that seem odd? What was in it was not odd; it was the usual stuff.

There were a couple of newspapers - the Aug. 15, 1915, edition of the Radcliffe Signal and the Aug. 24, 1915, edition of The Des Moines Register and Leader - photographs, two school manuals and background information on the first years of the school system. Protected against moisture, light and air for more than nine decades, it all is in perfect condition.

It turned out that the school manuals contained fabulous insights into the educational system of 100-year-ago Iowa.

The manual instructed teachers to enforce a "Morals and Manners" section.

Here is an example for first- and second-graders."Enforce habits of cleanliness, neatness and obedience. Tell simple stories to illustrate honesty, truthfulness and kindness. Require politeness to teacher and schoolmates. ... Teach pupils that politeness does not consist in any mere form of words or any set form of action, but in saying and doing things to help others because you feel kind in your heart toward them."

Here's how it applied to fifth- and sixth-graders: "Illustrate when possible by incident or story, lying, deceit, stealing, idleness, whining, care for another's property, kindness, golden rule, respect for the aged, prompt obedience, politeness, courage in doing right, titles of honor and respect. Deal oftener with moral virtues than with their contrary vices. Impress upon the pupils' minds the truth, 'Do right because it is right.' "

What's your opinion? Do you think this kind of education, which many of our grand-parents and great-grand-parents received is lacking today? Is that the problem, the lack of proper education in modern America?

Please feel free to leave a comment.

The Stars and Stripes

Il Principe has published a fascinating indictment of the main stream media.

The institution of the military is one of the most trusted and respected institutions in America and the newspaper The Stars and Stripes, is considered the official record of the U.S. Armed Forces. Although The Stars and Stripes newspaper may appear to be the mouthpiece for the Pentagon and would never report anything negative about the military, a recent news story first reported by the Stars and Stripes dispels all these preconceptions and biased opinions.

I admit, I'm certainly one who thought exactly this way. I find it absolutely fascinating that a story like this could break first in the Stars and Stripes.

The story reported by the Stars and Stripes involves a private corporation, The Rendon Group, who was hired by the Pentagon to produce background profiles on journalists covering the war. While this story was alarming enough, making the issue more disturbing is the total lack of reporting the story has had in the mainstream press.

One result of the assessments of war correspondents is, in some cases, military commanders determined whether to imbed journalists with their troops based on the Rendon Group evaluation. This may have slanted the entire world perception of the wars.

The Prince's conclusion about why this happened is fascinating too. He says it indicates a growing discontent among the military itself as to the management of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What's your opinion? Do you find it strange that a story like this came out in the Stars and Stripes instead of, let's say, CNN? What about that discontent among military personnel? Is that becoming a problem or is the fact that we've got an all volunteer military ensuring that mainly those who agree with the policies are joining?

What's your opinion?

O'Rielly on Torture

Analysis by LiberalViewer.



What's your opinion? Do you put Bill O'Rielly in the same category with Glenn Beck? To me, Bill seems far more dangerous, although I would imagine their audiences are comprised of the same people for the most part.

Why would anyone oppose a full investigation into this as the ACLU suggests?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Americorps Will Be Obama's SS Claims Beck

I just can't get enough of this guy. I guess I should stop being surprised that people take him seriously. He and his guests hit that nerve that I often accuse the pro-gun crowd of being sensitive to. It's the one which triggers the "grandiose victimism" response. Us against them, us being the little rugged individual, them being the powerful but evil federal government.

On Lindsey's wonderful site Majikthise, she points to Beck's outrageous and twice-repeated claim that Americorps received half a trillion dollars in funding.

In the clip, Beck claims that Americorps has "just received half a trillion dollars in funding." What the hell is he talking about? Half a trillion dollars is $500 billion. Half a trillion dollars would put Americorps in the same league as the Pentagon.

For FY 2010, the president requested less than two billion dollars for Americorps' parent agency, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and congress appropriated $90 million less than he asked for.

Lindsey mentioned that it was reported that Beck corrected the outlandish claim late in the show. I'd imagine all of it was as calculated and programmed as his frequent emotional outbursts. They must have statistics of how many of the 2 or 3 million viewers don't watch to the very end.

David Bellavia, former Army Staff Seargeant and highly decorated war hero, actually seems more hysterical than Beck. He claims to be genuinely concerned about the evil progressives who want social justice, distorting them into something akin to the SS or the fedayeen. He said he wouldn't make comparisons then went on to do exactly that, comparing Obama to Hitler and Saddam Hussein.

Does this Bellavia have his own show yet? He's a natural, don't you think?

Do you think any good can come from this? What do you think Glenn Beck is trying to accomplish? Is it just about ratings, regardless of whatever effect he may have on the country? Or is he really trying to bring about changes in America? And what might they be?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Georgia Bludgeoning - Seven Dead, Two Wounded

UPDATE

Link kindly supplied by our friend and frequent commenter Bob S.


Yahoo News reports on the terrible shooting bludgeoning that took place in a Southern Georgia trailer park.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Seven people were found slain and two critically injured Saturday at a mobile home park built on the grounds of a historic plantation in southeastern Georgia, police said.

Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering called it the worst mass slaying in his 25 years of police work in this coastal Georgia county. He wouldn't say how the victims died.

"This is a record for us. We've never had such an incident with so many victims," Doering told reporters. "It's not a scene that I would want anybody to see."

Do you find it odd that the Police Chief "wouldn't say how the victims died?" I certainly do. Imagine the horror if they hadn't been killed with bullets, but, let's say a knife or a metal pipe. That might be a good reason to be a bit hesitant to say how they died.

By going over to Bonnie's Blog of Blog, I was able to find the link to the local news which did confirm they were shot.

Police declined to say how the victims were killed or injured, but a county official close to investigation said today that they had been shot.

What is it with the police in this case? Are they just under orders to not release any information to the press? I couldn't help wondering if they're a little sensitive about the effect something like this will have on their state's reputation. Georgia is known to be one of the "easy gun law" states. Maybe the police feel it would be a shame for anyone to connect that with this.

What's your opinion? Is this just another one of the little incidents we must accept in order for the sacred gun rights to be preserved?

Please leave a comment.