Gun crime all time low. Old news but the public is still unaware.

Photo, courtesy Pew Research

Gun crime is at an all time low and that is old news but the public is still unaware. It has been some time now since this fact has become public knowledge, yet so many truly believe the opposite.

So, we now have this big debate on the new Surgeon General nominee Vivek Murthy. Vivek has been said to have stated that guns are a public health issue and has drawn a bit of opposition on his nomination. Truthfully the  Surgeon General’s role is as a leading spokesperson in matters of public health. His opinions must be based on fact and not be politically motivated.

Sadly, much of the public has been lead to believe, by our mainstream media, that gun violence and mass shootings are on a rise.  In fact the exact opposite is true.

A study done by the US Department of Justice shows firearm deaths have declined nearly 40% since 1993, in spite of the number of firearms being owned by private citizens which has grown exponentially. You can read the entire study by following this link.

Pew Research, a nonpartisan research center graphed how gun homicide is down 49% since it’s peak in 1993. You can read that article by following this link. Also bear in mind concealed carry laws did not really begin to become adopted until 1994. Source. Concealed carry laws began to be passed and gun homicides decline. I’ll be doggone.

More than a third of Americans admit that someone on their household owns a firearm. Current estimates put that the number of privately held firearms is easily in excess of 300,000,000. Think on that for a second. That’s three hundred million, folks.

Now America has, by far, more firearms held by private citizens and yet ranks low in gun homicides. You can read further on this by following this link .  The article states that many countries often deflate their own numbers by skewing the way a gun homicide is classified. Though not concrete evidence, as you can see in the chart the US clearly has more firearms per 100 people and still falls close to the bottom as compared to other countries with similar homicide numbers and much less guns.

Harvard University weighed in on the same debate as above with their own study investigating whether or not banning firearms would reduce murders and suicides.  Examining crime data from many European countries they found that countries with higher firearm ownership enjoyed lower murder rates, and the reverse is also true. Russia for example has a homicide rate that is four times higher than America while having much stricter gun laws. Also many European countries with it’s citizens owning firearms such as Finland, Germany, and Norway had much lower murder rates. Luxembourg, for example where handguns are outlawed and firearm laws are extremely strict, had a nine times higher homicide rate than Germany in 2002.

There is also no evidence to suggest that gun ownership has any correlation to higher murder rates anywhere in the world or in America. In fact, in the United States the study shows that a small number of career criminals with substantial records are responsible for the vast majority of all gun crimes. Showing that (now sit down for this) criminals tend not to obey the law, so gun laws only affect those willing to obey them. Some, in order to skew the numbers even include lawful police shootings and justifiable self defense shooting in their “gun crime stats” to falsely inflate their numbers.

To read the entire study follow this link.

Gun Control Myths busted with references cited. . Link

• MYTH 1 — Public opinion polls
• MYTH 2 — The purpose of a handgun
• MYTH 3 — Armed citizens don’t deter crime
• MYTH 4 — Licensing and registration
• MYTH 5 — Foreign gun control works
• MYTH 6 — Crimes of passion and guns
• MYTH 7 — Semi-autos should be banned
• MYTH 8 — No `right’ to own a gun
• MYTH 9 — Concealed carry laws are dangerous
• MYTH 10 — Gun control reduces crime

Even NPR, a left leaning news outlet, has gone on record stating that gun control does not work. You can read their take by following this link. The Washington Post polled Americans and the majority say firearm ownership makes them safer in their home. Link

A short video with some current data that continues to support gun crime is down.

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/3845373049001/firearm-sales-shoot-to-new-highs/?intcmp=obnetwork#sp=show-clips

Now I could continue on to summarize studies and cite sources, but at some point these folks who continue to say guns cause crime and crime is at all time high are going to have to take their head out of the sand and look at hard, unbiased data.

As for the old “it is the NRA that is causing all the problems” well not to put too fine of a point on it but we are the NRA, the American voters. Does the fact we belong to an organization that supports a cause we believe in lesser our voice or vote? That was a rhetorical question my friends. I will admit the NRA is not perfect but it is by far one of our most powerful tools and the best thing we have going for our civil right to bear arms.

I have been legally carrying a concealed handgun since a few years after I was honorably discharged from The United States Marine Corps and in the past decade I have had to rely on my sidearm to defend my life. Now, I have not had to shoot anyone, and thank God for that, but having to draw and show I was armed was enough to save me from death or great bodily harm on four occasions. For the people that say “guns cause crime” I can honestly say if I were not armed I am pretty sure I would not be here today. So, instead of believing some cute meme you read on Facebook and taking that as fact, do a little research.

More guns equal less crime, fact. You may not like that but that does not diminish the validity of that statement.