Claims by gun prohibitionists and left-leaning politicians that there is some sort of “gun violence epidemic” underway in the United States can be refuted by facts, and a talk radio host in Seattle set about doing just that the other day.
He’s not alone, of course. Gun owners are tired of taking the rap for crimes committed by people who clearly have mental problems that have not been addressed, and they refuse to be penalized for crimes they did not commit, especially after gun control proponents have admitted those crimes would not be prevented by the restrictive laws they advocate.
Anti-gun lobbying groups, anti-gun politicians including Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, and many in the media have been talking about an “epidemic of gun violence,” but KVI’s John Carlson called them out with a detailed piece in Crosscut that strongly suggests the claims about “gun violence” are nonsense.
Carlson has the data on his side.
“It will surprise the mayor and many other people to learn,” Carlson wrote, “that gun violence isn’t rising in America, it’s falling. In fact, it’s plummeting. Gun deaths are down nearly 40 percent in the last 20 years, despite an increase in population and a rise in gun ownership. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) points out an even more dramatic number: Non-fatal gun crimes free-fell 69 percent during that same period.”
That same report also noted,“As a percentage of all violent incidents (i.e., rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault), between 1993 and 2011, nonfatal gun crime has ranged from a high of 8 percent to a low of 5 percent. In 2011, firearm crimes comprised 8 percent of all violent crimes.”
Eight percent of all violent crimes hardly suggests a “gun violence epidemic.”
For more, read the Seattle Gun Rights Examiner.
