HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

5 Facts About Guns, Schools, & Violence

Views:920
@ReasonVids

In the wake of December's horrific mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Vice President Joe Biden is chairing a panel of experts that will make gun-control recommendations to President Barack Obama by the end of the month. The president has said that enacting new restrictions on guns will be one of his highest priorities.

No one wants to ever again see anything like the senseless slaughter of 26 people -- including 20 children - at a school. But as legislators turn toward creating new gun laws, here are five facts they need to know.

  1. Violent crime -- including violent crime using guns -- has dropped massively over the past 20 years.

The violent crime rate - which includes murder, rape, and beatings - is half of what it was in the early 1990s. And the violent crime rate involving the use of weapons has also declined at a similar pace.

  1. Mass shootings have not increased in recent years.

Despite terrifying events like Sandy Hook or last summer's theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, mass shootings are not becoming more frequent. "There is no pattern, there is no increase," says criminologist James Allen Fox of Northeastern University, who studies the issue. Other data shows that mass killings peaked in 1929.

  1. Schools are getting safer.

Across the board, schools are less dangerous than they used be. Over the past 20 years, the rate of theft per 1,000 students dropped from 101 to 18. For violent crime, the victimization rate per 1,000 students dropped from 53 to 14.

  1. There Are More Guns in Circulation Than Ever Before.

Over the past 20 years, virtually every state in the country has liberalized gunownership rules and many states have expanded concealed carry laws that allow more people to carry weapons in more places. There around 300 million guns in the United States and at least one gun in about 45 percent of all households. Yet the rate of gun-related crime continues to drop.

  1. "Assault Weapons Bans" Are Generally Ineffective.

While many people are calling for reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons -- an arbitrary category of guns that has no clear definition -- research shows it would have no effect on crime and violence. "Should it be renewed," concludes a definitive study, "the ban's effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement."

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is as horrifing a crime as can be imagined. It rips at the country's heart and the call to action is strong and righteous. But as Joe Biden and his panel of experts consider changes to gun laws and school-safety policies, they need to lead with their heads and not just their hearts.

Over the past dozen years, too many policies -- the Patriot Act, the war in Iraq, the TARP bailouts -- have been ruled by emotion and ideology.

Passing sweeping new restrictions on Second Amendment rights won't heal the pain and loss we all feel but just may create many more problems in our future.

Written by Nick Gillespie. Produced by Amanda C. Winkler. Additional camera work by Joshua Swain.

About 2.30 minutes. Go to http://reason.com/reasontv/2013/01/10/reasons-5-facts-on-guns-and-gun-violence for downloadable versions and links to all data cited above.

Subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live.

sandy hook
,
sandy hook school shooting
,
adam lanza
,
guns
,
gun control
,
assault weapons
,
second amendment
,
reason.com
,
reason tv
,
reason.tv
,
gun bans
,
libertarian
,
nick gillespie
,
amanda c winkler
,
barack obama
,
joe biden
,
gun laws
,
aurora shooting
,
mass shootings
,
mass killings
,
gun violence
,
shooting sport (sport)
,
firearm (sports equipment)
,
barack obama (us president)
    Thumbnail for The Problem with Hurricane Sandy Aid2:08
    The Problem with Hurricane Sandy Aid
    ReasonVids
    980 views
    Thumbnail for Exploring Mycenaean Greece – Culture, Kingdoms and the Historical Context of the Trojan War | History with Cy1:30:33
    Exploring Mycenaean Greece – Culture, Kingdoms and the Historical Context of the Trojan War | History with Cy
    invidious
    350 views
    Thumbnail for Behind the Scenes of the Caswell Forfeiture Victory5:59
    Behind the Scenes of the Caswell Forfeiture Victory
    IJvids
    1062 views
    Thumbnail for When your eyes light up I think aboiut our future family together and our DT class we had in 04'1:22
    When your eyes light up I think aboiut our future family together and our DT class we had in 04'
    cankerstank
    457 views
    Thumbnail for Why Republicans Should Vote Libertarian This Year, According to Libertarian Party Members3:47
    Why Republicans Should Vote Libertarian This Year, According to Libertarian Party Members
    ReasonVids
    919 views
    Thumbnail for Remy: Best Song Ever! (One Direction Parody - Tax Code Edition)1:55
    Remy: Best Song Ever! (One Direction Parody - Tax Code Edition)
    ReasonVids
    978 views
    Thumbnail for Stossel: Seattle’s 'Amazon Tax'4:31
    Stossel: Seattle’s 'Amazon Tax'
    ReasonVids
    713 views
    Thumbnail for How COVID-19 Is Spreading School Choice3:48
    How COVID-19 Is Spreading School Choice
    ReasonVids
    1003 views
    Thumbnail for Laura Kipnis on Lockdowns, #MeToo, and Sexual Paranoia on Campus1:15:35
    Laura Kipnis on Lockdowns, #MeToo, and Sexual Paranoia on Campus
    ReasonVids
    742 views
    Thumbnail for What's Next for the Libertarian Party After Jo Jorgensen Got 1%?9:28
    What's Next for the Libertarian Party After Jo Jorgensen Got 1%?
    ReasonVids
    976 views
    Thumbnail for The Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il: Q&A with Michael Malice54:27
    The Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il: Q&A with Michael Malice
    ReasonVids
    1024 views
    Thumbnail for Using HACKS To Escape The IMPOSTER In Among Us! | Aphmau19:48
    Using HACKS To Escape The IMPOSTER In Among Us! | Aphmau
    kids.topic
    88 views
    Thumbnail for Bitcoin: A Weapon for Peace in the Israel-Palestine Conflict24:37
    Bitcoin: A Weapon for Peace in the Israel-Palestine Conflict
    ReasonVids
    910 views
    Thumbnail for Edward Snowden's Lawyer on the Government's War on Whistleblowers12:56
    Edward Snowden's Lawyer on the Government's War on Whistleblowers
    ReasonVids
    888 views
    Thumbnail for Creepypasta Horror Stories Radio- 24/7 - Scary stories to relax/study to | CreepsMcPasta1:00
    Creepypasta Horror Stories Radio- 24/7 - Scary stories to relax/study to | CreepsMcPasta
    invidious
    214 views
    Thumbnail for Assembling the last of the oak dormer windows. | Escape to rural France10:16
    Assembling the last of the oak dormer windows. | Escape to rural France
    invidious
    34 views
    Thumbnail for This City Is Trying to Kick a Family Out of Their Home for Someone Else's Crime1:01
    This City Is Trying to Kick a Family Out of Their Home for Someone Else's Crime
    IJvids
    1153 views
    Thumbnail for Make a Wish | Grunt Speak Live2:16:08
    Make a Wish | Grunt Speak Live
    Terrence Popp
    1003 views
    Thumbnail for [🔴국방위] 김현태 707 특임단장 출석.. 국회 전력차단 증언. .국방위원회 ㅣ 2025.02.17 | JTV뉴스4:34:43
    [🔴국방위] 김현태 707 특임단장 출석.. 국회 전력차단 증언. .국방위원회 ㅣ 2025.02.17 | JTV뉴스
    invidious
    79 views
    Thumbnail for KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN | Official Teaser Trailer | In Theaters October 10 | RoadsideFlix1:55
    KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN | Official Teaser Trailer | In Theaters October 10 | RoadsideFlix
    invidious
    49 views
    Thumbnail for Donald Trump, Joel Osteen, and the Evangelical "Money Cult"21:24
    Donald Trump, Joel Osteen, and the Evangelical "Money Cult"
    ReasonVids
    937 views
    Thumbnail for Alex Epstein on The State of American Energy | The American Petroleum Institute1:40
    Alex Epstein on The State of American Energy | The American Petroleum Institute
    science.topic
    95 views
    Thumbnail for علم نافع | ضحايا الصهـ ـيونية | Dr. Khalil al-Anani - د. خليل العناني 36:39
    علم نافع | ضحايا الصهـ ـيونية | Dr. Khalil al-Anani - د. خليل العناني
    invidious
    114 views
    Thumbnail for Living legacy0:13
    Living legacy
    bestofvoatxyz
    501 views
    Thumbnail for "GB News" is Controlled Opposition by the UK Government8:39
    "GB News" is Controlled Opposition by the UK Government
    bestofsaidit
    707 views

points

Permalink
Reply
sandy hook
,
sandy hook school shooting
,
adam lanza
,
guns
,
gun control
,
assault weapons
,
second amendment
,
reason.com
,
reason tv
,
reason.tv
,
gun bans
,
libertarian
,
nick gillespie
,
amanda c winkler
,
barack obama
,
joe biden
,
gun laws
,
aurora shooting
,
mass shootings
,
mass killings
,
gun violence
,
shooting sport (sport)
,
firearm (sports equipment)
,
barack obama (us president)
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle