Gun Violence in America: Race, Reform and Freedom

 American seem increasingly terrified of the upcoming November elections regardless of the outcome. If the "Trumpsters" win, the fear is mass riots by the Far Left worse than when won Trump in 2020. If the Democrats win, the concern is another "January 6th" on steroids. One indication is the fact that Americans are arming themselves like never before. 

Case in point, in 1999 just 26% of Americans owned a firearm for self-protection. Today that number is  80%. One professor, Dr. David Yamane of Wake Forest University equated the uptick to the radical change in cultural values, which is something not seen to this degree since the late 1960's and early 1970's.

A recent Pew poll showed that 40% of households had at least one firearm in the house. 45% of Republicans and conservative leaning Independents owned a weapon while just 20% of Democrats or liberal leaning Independents did. When it came to gender, 40% of males owned a gun compared to 25% of women.

When we look at race, Americans of European origin made up 38% of gun ownership. Black Americans comprise 34% of gun ownership. Meanwhile, the nation's largest minority, Hispanics, made up 20% of the ownership. Asians were just 10% of gun owners. The reason most often cited by 72% gun owners for the reason they owned a firearm was self protection of person and property. 62% say they use their firearm mostly for hunting or sport. 15% claim they simply collect weapons of various sort. Lastly 7% it's a part of their job (such as security guard).

What type of guns do most Americans own? 72% of gun owners have a pistol/handgun. 62% have a rifle of some sort (including lever action and semi-automatics like an AR15). Finally, 54% own a shotgun (either single or double barreled). It bears mentioning that  58% of Americans in general favor tighter gun control laws. 26% believe current laws are about where we need to be, and 17% think that current gun laws are too restrictive.

Where do most of these gun owners live? Not surprising is that the majority---47%---live in the country where a firearm is commonly used for a wide variety of reasons such as hunting, protection against snakes and dangerous animals as well as theft of personal property and livestock as well as self protection.  Suburban neighborhoods, which comprise mostly Middle Class families and individuals, make up 30% of gun owners. 20% of those who own a firearm line in urban areas.

When it comes to the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms without restrictions, the percentages are quite low. The majority of gun owners regardless of political "affliction" said they believe that there should be some form of restrictions. For instance, respondents favor legislation to prevent those with some form of mental illness to own a firearm in near equal measure. 88% for conservatives and 89% for liberals.

What about carrying a concealed weapon without a permit? 60% of Republicans say no while 91% of Democrats agree.  When it comes to military styled weapons (which are typically semi-automatic deigned to look like a military grade firearm) as well as high capacity magazine clips (clips which hold more than eight rounds), the difference between ideologies becomes crystal clear. 81% of Democrats and those who lean liberal oppose both. 

In addition, there are now 17 states which no longer require a permit to carry a firearm---Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Some states, such as New Hampshire is expected to pass a law to allow residents to have a loaded gun in the car provided the car is locked when unoccupied and the weapons is not readily visible.

So, where does gun violence most often occur? Globally, the U.S. is the overwhelming leader when it comes to gun related deaths. at 12.1% per 100,000. The next highest is Finland with 3.25% per 100,000. Canada's rate was 2.05%. Japan had the lowest rate of gun related deaths at 0.06%.

States with the highest rate of gun violence tend to take place in "blue states", that is, states controlled by Democrats, especially in the South. Mississippi is the worse state when it comes to gun violence at nearly 30% per 100,000. Louisiana is next with 28.2% per 100,000. Rhode Island was the safest state with just 3.1%.

When it comes to cities, Pueblo, Colorado was the worse city for gun violence with a murder rate of 119% over the previous year, is a moderate size city with a population of about 112,000. As an aside,  Pueblo has a racial makeup is 71.78% white, 12.36% mixed race, 9.26% listed as "other" and 3.14% Native American. Perhaps of more significance is the poverty rate, which stands of 16%.6. The unemployment level is 7% which are known to affect crime levels.

Pueblo was closely followed by Amarillo, Texas, which has a population just over 200,000, at 117%. Next on this shameful list is Lansing, Michigan. It has 112% rate of gun related deaths. Lansing has a surprisingly low population of 112,500. Whites make up just half the population with 52.6%. Blacks comprise 23% while mixed race is 6.03%. Hispanics are 5.52% of the residents and Asians are  4.93%. Lansing's poverty rate is 20%, which far exceeds the national average of 12.5%. It's unemployment rate is 3.90%.

Austin, Texas, with a population of 974,400, has been shown to have a gun violence rate of 86%. Rounding out the top five of this nefarious list at 77% is Fayetteville, North Carolina and its population of just under 209,000.  Their unemployment rate  is 5.2%, and poverty level of 18.7%, both of which are higher than the national average.

Other cities with higher than average gun related deaths include St. Louis, Missouri, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana,  Jackson, Mississippi, Birmingham, Alabama, Baltimore, Maryland and Cleveland Ohio. Cities like Louisville, Kentucky, Memphis, Tennessee, West Palm Beach, Florida, Columbia and North Charlestown, South Carolina and Atlanta Georgia have higher levels of gun deaths relative to their population size. 58% of Americans say they've either personally experienced some form of gun violence or know someone who has.

In examining percentages of gun related deaths, we unsurprisingly find 66% are homicides. 32% are suicides and 3% are accidental.   It's worth mentioning that among the suicides, 16.9% were known to have some form of medically diagnosed mental illness at the time of their death and one person per day accidentally dies by a firearm (the most common form of accidental death was while cleaning their gun). 

Native Americans and Alaskan Natives have the highest percentage of suicide of any racial group. The root cause is believed to be extreme poverty coupled with drug and alcohol abuse.  Should we be surprised that around 50% of Americans admit being anxious when firearms are present? 36% said they or someone they know will be exposed to a gun related crime in their lifetime.

When we delve further into homicides, we find that Black Americans have the highest statistical rates of firearm related deaths at 8 times the national average (on average, just slightly under 10,000 blacks die of gun violence every year.  

The police have shot and killed more whites than any other racial group in terms of raw numbers. However, Black Americans are shot and killed at a higher percentage relative the size of their population. They are  followed by Hispanics and finally other racial groups.

To put it in further perspective, blacks comprise just 13% of the U.S. population while owning 24% of all guns. However, 60% of all gun related deaths are Black-Americans. When compared to the largest minority population, Hispanics, blacks die at a rate 11.5% more often than Hispanics. 83% of deaths among Black Americans are gun related. If blacks don't think back lives matter, why should the rest of America? 

Black youth of either gender die much more often due to gun violence than any other racial population. From birth to age 17, black youth die at a rate of 7.87% per 100,000 compared to whites and other racial groups of the same age, the death rate is 0.58%. From ages 18 through 24, their death rate is sickening 58.78%. For everyone else, it's roughly 3.10%.

From 25 to 39, the percentage of black deaths by gun violence is 42.35%. Other racial groups have an average of 3.21%. Finally, blacks 40 and over, their death rate is 11.5% per 100,000. For everyone else it's 1.78%. The average across all age brackets for Black Americans is 21.05%. For everyone else it's 1.93%

When we break down by gender, we find that black males are far more likely to die by gun violence than black females. If we group together all age brackets, black males have a death by firearm percentage of 40.09% compared to other races which have a death rate of 2.77%. The highest death rate among black males is between ages 18 and 24, While Hispanics, whites, Asians, and other races have a 4.59 death rate percentage, the death rate among black males is a horrific 104.07%!

Even when you look at older age groups, the percentage of gun related deaths for black males far exceed their population percentage. For age 19 up to 39, it's barely under 80%! Other racial groups show a 5.02% rate. You would expect that late middle age men would do better. Guess again.

Blacks males 40 and over have a gun related death rate of 20.42% per 100,000 compared to 2.48% for males of other races. It bares mentioning that 85% of all gun related murders of blacks were committed by other blacks, and while white on white gun rated murders have increased. Roughly 84% of whites are killed other whites, yet black on black homicides are roughly 93%.  A interesting aside mentioned in a Department of Justice report states that 52% of victims are familiar with their murderer. 

Politicians (mostly Democrat) have been promising serious gun law reforms for decades. Several such as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have said they would "go door to door" if they had to taking away people's guns. Even 2024 Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, has promised serious gun law reform, making it more difficult to buy or own a firearm. Of course, that's great for a sound bite on nightly news and aimed as invigorating the anti-gun crowd, that's neither realistic or likely ever to happen.

Many Americans are willing to accept tighter guns laws in order to keep firearms out of the hands of people most likely to cause harm such as the mentally unstable, drug addicts, and so forth. But as the old adage goes, "when guns are taken away, only criminals will have guns". It will be like fat sheep being guarded by hungry wolves.  

Besides, Americans have had a love affair with guns since the founding of this nation. They are part of our national fabric like freedom of speech, assembly, or the right to vote (not that it does us any good), Nevertheless, 89% of Americans agree there should be mandatory background checks without exception.

66% of Americans favor laws to allow the Feds to track gun sales (which means keeping records so they'll know who owns what). I understand the reason behind such a law, but to me that seems to violate our right to privacy. 64% want to ban high capacity magazines which hold more than 10 rounds. Proponents say there is no reason for anyone to shoot more than 10 rounds. Opponents point out that it's no one's business how many rounds they shoot.

Another 63% want to ban "assault weapons" all together. I suspect that most of these individuals have little idea what a "assault weapon" actually is. A so-called "assault weapons" is merely a semi-auto rifle like any other used in hunting or recreational shooting. The one key difference is that the stock has been changed to give it a "military" style. It just makes it look "cooler". It is not a military grade weapon.

So, when they say they want to ban "assault weapons", in reality  they mean any rifle other than a single shot bolt action rifle. I suppose they'd like to see us return to Colonial era black power flint locks too.  It's more likely they want to ban any add-on mechanisms or devices which can convert a rifle or other firearm into something approaching a full automatic such as was used by the 2017 mass murderer, Stephen Paddock, in Las Vegas where he killed 60 individuals and injured 413 more. At the time Paddock was using something called a "bump stock" which used the gun's recoil to continue firing. While it came too late for the victims, the 'bump stock" and similar devices have been banned.

There is no question tighter laws should be considered, but first existing laws to be enforced and extended to include gun shows where used guns can be bought with no background check. Transactions between individuals could be conducted using a intermediary such as a licensed gun store dealer.  It would be a little harder on both buyer and seller, but with proper ID, sellers could do a electronic background check. I'm sure everyone would agree that the minor inconvenience would be worth a possible life lost.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, attitudes toward gun violence must change, especially among those who've come to believe the only way to settle a disagreement is through violence. These people need to accept that all life has value, even those you disagree with. That people are murdered for  chump change makes no sense. Stealing someone's car or breaking into a house is placing more value on their stuff than your own life. Gun violence is the first choice of the weak and ultimately solves absolutely nothing. 

 

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What is 'Antifa' and is it a Threat?

 

So, just who or what is "Antifa"? The answer depends really on who you ask. To the Far Left, it's a largely benign and loosely organized groups and individuals on the political Left spectrum, ranging from climate change activists, radical feminists, anarchists, members of LGBQT, so-called "socialists" and Communists, and groups like Black Lives Matter.

 Many define Antifa as a ideology and a movement rather than as an organization or political party (which incidentally was how Fascism and Nazism were originally defined. How ironic). 

To those on the Right, especially the Far Right, they are hardly benign or loosely organized. They tend to be decentralized (that is without a identifiable organizational structure) and yet operate with a specific purpose, leading some to speculate that there are coordinated cells within the larger mass of protesters charged with attacking specific targets.

They're those who call for the "defunding" or closure of police departments and the creation of "citizen policing", especially of minority communities by fellow minorities. Some groups went as far as to take up arms and attempt to menace the police by carrying weapons (or taking up roof top "sniper" positions) or pointing small handheld lasers at the police.

The mainstream media generally glosses over the mayhem and damage they cause (such as setting fires, looting, vandalizing), or attacking specific groups or individuals physically aside from minor irritants such as blocking traffic. Instead, the media calls these riots "peaceful protests". 

Case in point is Donald Trump's inauguration when they staged attacks on parts of Washington DC and surrounding areas by starting fires, flipping cars, breaking out store windows, and spray painting almost everything in sight. Their objective, of course, was to and divert attention from the inauguration to them. 

On several occasions, they've aggressively denied individuals the opportunity to speak, even when previously invited and especially on college campuses. It's as if these individuals live in a political bubble they're afraid will get popped if additional facts are let in. So much for higher education and critical thinking skills!

When George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were killed (some would say "murdered"), they staged massive demonstrations in cities and towns across America, especially in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Louisville, Kentucky, where the two incidents happened.  While chaos ensued, police officers were ordered to stand down and respond only when actually attacked, and then only in moderation in order to deescalate the situation, which the media again downplayed.

Meanwhile, whenever small pockets of Far-Right groups showed up "to observe", the media heralded them as "neo-Nazis" or "hate groups". It's worth noting that in no instances during the Floyd and Taylor "peaceful" riots, did the Far Right show up enmasse. In most instances, their appearances were limited to around a dozen or so individuals, albeit with many in military garb.

So, what's the truth? Just who is Antifa and what is their objective? Indeed, given the political diversity of Antifa, is there a single objective?  The name ("Antifa") is a abbreviation for "Anti-Fascism", which also kinda sums up their mission statement if you will. To be more specific, the overarching goal of Antifa is reputedly the creation of a more "open", "accepting" and "liberal" society and the total destruction of whatever they deem as being "fascist". If that sounds contradictory, it's because it is.

However, there's little or no consensus as to exactly what that would entail. Some favor creating a "Communist" style of government based on Stalinism or Maoism (neither of which had any actual basis in Marxism). This would call for a total elimination of capitalism from the ownership of private property to total government control and regulation of business (including Wall Street).

Others favor a form of anarchy, which calls for the annihilation of government itself.  Even currency would be abolished in favor of some sort of barter method. There are those who favor a form of socialism with greater government regulation of key industries, expanded social programs, overhauling the tax code, while some want legalization of all drugs, open borders, the complete confiscation of all guns, free education, debit forgiveness and medical care.

There are those who want a complete redistribution of wealth and the creation of a universal base income to fight poverty paid for by the elimination of the military (perhaps leaving a small volunteer national guard), and defunding or elimination of police departments and the creating of community policing. In a limited sense, this has already happened in some cities such as Portland Oregon.  

 In fact, approximately 20 cities have, in some form or fashion, have defunding their police departments with one report from 2021 saying that police department budgets across the country have been cut $870 million dollars.  

Meanwhile, other participants of Antifa are more focused on climate warming and are demanding extreme changes in environmental laws with stronger enforcement. Many want changes in laws concerning the LGBTQ community including adopting the normalization of multi-genders (they claim there are  72 genders) and the adoption of asexual or non-binary  pronouns. Surprisingly, this segment of Antifa has been perhaps the most successful.

In a early victory of sorts, there are five U.S. cities which have banned the use of gender specific pronouns such as "he" and "she" on government documents and forms or used in laws and policies. These cities are San Diego, Oakland, Berkeley California as well as Boston Massachusetts. 11 states have approved the use of a "third gender" on forms and documents. The reputed goal, according to various local and state officials, to create a "open and welcoming" environment for the approximately 1% of the U.S. population which self-identifies as neither male or female.

As an aside, there are roughly six states which have adopted a LGBQT "inclusive" health education curriculum which numerous more  who quietly promote gay identity through the use of "gay pride" flags in the classroom or allowing individuals in full drag queen attire to read to young school children. In addition, there has been changes in various local law to allow individuals to use the restrooms of the gender they self-identify as. 

 Another group affiliated with Antifa is Black Lives Matter which seeks to promote everything from the creation of autonomous or semi-autonomous zones exclusive to blacks to additional funding of black or minority owned businesses, housing or other social programs. Despite instances of violence and looting, BLM's aim has been to reduce what they believe is police violence and harassment of blacks in general.

Statistics indicate that blacks, who make up 13.6% of the U.S. population, are three times more likely than whites to be killed police officers although blacks are shown to be 1.3 time less likely than whites to be armed. One third of the incidents have occurred when the suspect is attempting to flee on foot or vehicle. 43%  of deaths happened during the commission of a violent crime or in the possession of a weapon while 22% was during a non-violent offence. 

Other groups under the Antifa umbrella include those who want to confiscate all firearms, make changes in medical care of seniors, the handicapped, or mentally ill, eliminate student debt, raise minimum wage, reform the judicial system (including the prison system by closing all privately own prisons), make changes in election laws to permit more ballot access or eliminate mandatory voter ID laws.  Of course, there are plenty of those who simply enjoy causing mayhem and violence.

What makes Antifa so dangerous, however, is a lack of formal structure and thus a centralized hierarchy.  Interestingly, within Antifa demonstrations there are "legal observers" from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). They monitor and video tape the actions of the police department and assist individuals who are arrested with bail money and legal representation (demonstrators often write NLG's  phone number somewhere on their body in anticipation of arrest).

The NGL allegedly uses the video (along with video and pictures obtained from assorted cell phones) to bully cities with threats of lawsuits for various supposed civil rights violations. The City of Denver Colorado had to pony up 1.6 million dollars while Austin Texas coughed up $17 million. Many cities find it cheaper just to pay off NLG than to contest the lawsuit (this tactic is known as "lawfare"). As a result, it's taxpayers who ultimately end up funding Antifa.

As an aside, the NLG also engages in passive resistance training and related tactics for protestors (many of the techniques were gleaned from lessons learned during the protest movements of the 50's, 60's, and 70's).  Instruction is often either online through private chats or in person just before a protest or other action begins. There is typically someone designated to ensure everyone follows their instructions.

Antifa reminds me less of the "Red Front", the paramilitary arm of the Communist Party of the Weimar Republic, and more like the Nazi "Brownshirts"  or Mussolini's "Blackshirts" of the same era (in fact, Antifa is known for dressing head to toe in all black clothing).

It's worth pointing out that while the Far Right are typically demonized by the media as being extremist, they have not been able to organize as effectively as Antifa has, and they are certainly aren't as well funded. Antifa has engaged in over 140 mass protests across the country (many of which have degenerated into riots) as of 2022, while aside from the January 6th protest, the Far Right hasn't had any major protests and or riots.  

As many observers of Antifa have pointed out, despite their name, action is louder than words and their actions are more fascist than not. Some have called Antifa a new type of political guerilla warfare in the footsteps of Mao. And while there is strength in numbers, there is also guilt by association, and this doesn't apply any more strongly than in the political arena.

As Antifa is expected to be labeled a "domestic terrorist organization" by the U.S. Justice Department, it could have a negative impact on those groups seeking to affect changes in the law or society as a whole.  Affiliated groups have managed to achieve some success based on individual issues and data than through their relationship with Antifa. So, is Antifa an actual threat?

 In some aspects, yes. It has caused chaos as well as a great deal of property damage. It has injured police officers, journalists, and innocent bystanders. It has expressed itself as an opponent of capitalism and the Constitution. It's no friend of critical thought, the open exchange of ideas, or open debate, preferring instead to remain isolated in its political and social bubble. 

At the same time, it has attracted more publicity than perhaps it deserves.  Besides, Antifa hasn't truly faced any real opposition either from the conservative or independent intelligencia or on the streets by law enforcement or the Far Right, so their actual strength or clout has yet to be measured. Thus, they've yet to reach the critical mass of Mao's youthful "Red Guards" they imagine themselves to be or the Nazi "Brownshirts" which they emulate by their actions. 

I suspect Antifa will gradually fade much like the Weathermen and similar groups of the 1960's and 70's as new avenues are found to affect change through non-violent means much like Cesar Chavez and Rev. Martin Luther King. Ultimately, social change requires the support of the populace and that's not likely to be achieved with indiscriminate violence.

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Gun Control and Race: Taking Responsibility

 Former President Barack Obama recently said, in a interview with "CBS Mornings" on May 16, 2023, that the debate about gun control “has become sort of a proxy for arguments about our culture wars. You know, urban versus rural. Race is always an element in these issues.” He added that the debate over gun control has become an "ideological issue and partisan issue in ways it shouldn't".

Well, in a sense, the former President is correct. It has become an ideological and partisan issue in that the solution for Democrats and those on the Left is circumvent the 2nd Amendment in every way possible. They would like to make it illegal to own certain types of rifles simply because their stock has a military design such as the AR 15.

The media would have you believe that this is some sort of military grade firearm that somehow magically made its way into the hands of the public. For the record, an AR 15 doesn't stand for "Assault Rifle"  or "Automatic Rifle". It stands for "ArmaLite Rifle", the name of the original manufacturer, which is modeled after a military M-14 rifle.

The AR 15 is a semi-automatic rifle, the kind of which that have been around for decades and commonly for hunting or target shooting. Pretty much every manufacturer produces some sort of semi-automatic rifle. The only real difference here is the design of the stock which is intended to give it more of a "wow" factor.

The Left is also wanting to make it much more difficult to purchase handguns of all makes and models, if not outlaw them altogether.  There has even been some discussion by Democrats in Congress to require active duty and former military as well as law enforcement members to undergo special psychiatric exams  before being allowing to purchase any firearms, especially handguns.

Conservatives, as expected, deeply oppose any additional restrictions to gun ownership. They see it as an attempt to do away with gun ownership in piecemeal fashion until the average citizen is no longer able to own any firearms. They believe that the 2nd Amendment guarantees the right of all citizens to own a firearm, whether it be for hunting, target shooting, self-protection or no particular reason at all. But more so, as a bulwark against a tyrannical government as expressly stated by the Founding Fathers.

To paraphrase the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison on the subject, a unarmed and unprepared populace is no longer a nation of citizens. It is a nation of subjects. They feared that any government, including the one they just created, could become despotic just as they feared the creation of political parties.  As Benjamin Franklin said, "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote".

However, what this actually comes down to is, as Obama suggests, a matter of urban versus rural and ultimately, one of race.  The truth is that Black youth are five times more likely than any other racial group to be murdered. They are also more likely to be murdered by another Black person than they are a white, Hispanic, or Asian. Whites and Hispanic youths are killed at a rate of 2.3 per 100,000. The percentage for Asian deaths is .90 per 100,000, while for black youth it's 11.8 per 100,000.

Statistics from a 2018 FBI report shows that 16% of white victims were killed by Black attackers while 8% of Black victims had white attackers. However, in crimes in general, in 80% of the cases where the victim was white, the perpetrator was also white. When it came to Black victims, the perpetrator was Black in 89% of the cases. Among Black youth, 8 out of 10 deaths by gun were homicides. The majority of which were committed by another Black individual.

A 2016 study conducted by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine examined 812 deaths in 17 states from 2009 through 2012 which involved law enforcement. The study showed that white individuals were more likely to be the victim of a police shooting than not. In fact, whites represented 52% of the deaths. Black deaths by a law enforcement officer represented just 32.4%, making white deaths 2.8% higher than that of blacks.

It should be pointed out that in 83% of the time, the victim was armed when shot by law enforcement. Black victims, however, were most often reported to be unarmed---18.4%---of the time compared to white victims, who were unarmed just 9.4% of the time. In addition, the report mentioned that black males were killed by law enforcement 2.5 times more often than their white counterparts. Black females were killed at a rate of 1.4 times more often than white females.

Could this be part of the cultural issue Obama spoke of? There is no question that Hispanics tend to avoid law enforcement. Many come from countries that have a long history of brutal and corrupt law enforcement officials where rape, extortion, bribery, and even murder are not unknown. Asians too have a fear and distrust of law enforcement for much the same reasons. Of course, in both cases, language differences add another layer of mistrust.

For whites, it's different. Most police officers and law enforcement officials are white. In fact, 60% of police officers are white. Historically, that number has been much higher. Hispanics make up about 18.2% while 12.9% of  police officers are Black and just 3.3% are Asian. Native Americans make up only 1%.

 As an aside, the number of white officers has declined since roughly 2019 while Hispanic officers have increased slightly since 2020, which also marks the same point where the number of Black police officers started to decline. The number of Asian and Native American officers has remained consistent.  

It's worth pointing out that males comprise 83.2% of all police officers while females make up 16.8%. Also, female officers earn, on average, just 94 cents for every dollar her male counterpart earns. The average salary for a male officer is $54,340 and $51,038 for female officers.

But what about Black culture? Why do blacks have higher percentage of arrests and fatalities when it comes to their dealings with law enforcement? Are they just unlucky and get caught more readily? The short answer is "no". While Asians and Hispanics have keenly developed distrust of law enforcement, both cultures have a strong appreciation for authority and authority figures in general. The same can be said of whites.

All three groups were historically taught from a young age to respect and follow authority figures, which was often reinforced at home. It was common when I was growing up to seek out a police officer or fireman if you were lost or in trouble. Neighbors would watch out for trouble and thought nothing of calling your parents to rat you out if you did something wrong. Churches and other religious institutions were another source of reinforcing the concept of authority. Schools too practiced strong discipline and misbehavior of any sort wasn't tolerated. 

However, this same level of compliance toward authority seems to be missing within the Black community. What happened? Part of the reason is due to the fact that typically white, Asian, and Hispanic households included two parents, and often grandparents, aunts, uncles, and lots of kids! It wasn't uncommon for extended family to live nearby and often visited. So, there was at least a stable family life. 

In Black households, this wasn't always the case. In 2011, 72% of Black households consisted of single mothers. In 2016, 48% of all non-Black households were married while just 28% of Black households were. According to one telling statistic, in 1925 Harlem New York, 85% of Black households had two parents. By 1965, following the introduce of various welfare programs, out-of-wedlock births had increased 25% among Blacks.  

By 1991, that figure was 68%.  As of 2017, it was 77.3%, the most of any racial demographic. This meant that Black children were disproportionately growing up without a father figure in their lives. It also means that most had little adult supervision during critical stages in their lives. While schools and other institutions attempted to fill the gap, they are no substitute for the traditional two parent family.

39% of Black children do not live with their biological father. 28% have no male role model in their lives, compared to 15% of white children. 32% of Black fathers have never visited their biological children as opposed to 11% of white fathers. As a result, black children lack a key stabilizing factor in their lives.

As an aside, 50% of Blacks have never been married compared to 33% of all other racial groups. Black males, interestingly, were also more likely--15%---to marry non-black women compared to just 7% of Black women who married outside their race. 

It's also worth nothing that single parent households are quickly on the rise among Hispanic women in the United States despite a history where out-of-wedlock births carried a strong religious and societal stigma. In Latin America for instance, the trend is spreading in spite of its strong Catholic traditions. 84% of births in Columbia are out-of-wedlock. Mexico, Chile, and Argentina have similar percentages. However, this doesn't mean the absence of a father figure, which remains a key element in Hispanic culture. Meanwhile, this trend has yet to appear in the Asian community.

Another key factor contributing to gun violence among the Black community, especially as it relates to the police, is a toxic culture toward institutional authority in general, and toward law enforcement in particular. It can even be found in some of the music Black youth and young adults tend to listen to (mainly "gangsta rap") which often glorifies guns, drugs, rape, and murder, especially of police officers.

Certain rap performers also promotes what is termed as "savage" or extreme rude behavior toward authority figures. This is often reinforced through peer pressure, which can be quite powerful among teenagers. It can be seen in schools, in malls, neighborhoods and reinforced in movies and video games, while the media (mainstream and Black oriented) has been persistently promoting a subculture of entitlement or victimhood coupled with the creation of "identity politics", a term which developed out of a 1977 statement made by the Combahee River Collective, a black feminist lesbian socialist group.

Identity politics creates false sense of separateness as if one particular group stands uniquely alone with its problems and thus develops a "us vs. them" mentality which pits them against everyone else.  At the same time, the media has sought to create a corresponding culture of subservience, manufactured "guilt", willfully ignoring or excusing the "savage" behavior by other racial groups. The media also tends to underreport or downplay certain acts of violence or inappropriate behavior in order to create a false sense of normalcy. 

Former President Obama is correct in his assessment. The rise in deaths among Black youth, and indeed, the increase in Black related crime and violence, is indeed as cultural as it is racial or ideological. We essentially have two competing cultures which are, at their core, the product of fractured families, the result of the unintended failure of various government programs, and a taught sense of distrust of authority figures, which is reinforced through misguided media, plus a glorification of anti-social behavior and "political correctness". Even in public schools, academic achieving black students are often harassed verbally or physically for "acting white".

So, what does all this mean? It means that Blacks experience a higher rate of gun related deaths any other racial group. It also means they are more likely to be the victim of a crime where the perpetrator also happens to be Black as well. They are also more likely to be the victim of law enforcement related deaths than not, particularly if they're male. Percentage wise, they have highest number of individuals behind bars, largely based on drug or felony. The media has perpetuated a sense of persecution and entitlement while excusing anti-social behavior.

 Nevertheless, the issue of gun control is, at its heart, aimed at controlling the spread of gun related violence. On one hand, gun control advocates believe that by taking guns out of the hands of all citizens, criminals would also voluntarily surrender their guns or obtaining guns would be more difficult to acquire. The end result would be a reduction crime in general. They believe that the 2nd Amendment is outdated and/or misconstrued. By forgoing this unnecessary freedom, it would be a small price to pay in order to create a less violent society. A case of sacrificing one freedom for the greater good of all.

Those who are pro 2nd Amendment, however, believes that the greater good is best served by creating as few potential victims as possible. They argue that if more people are armed or has access to guns, criminals would go elsewhere. After all they point out, criminals are, at their core, cowards. They seek out the opportunities where they're most unlikely to get caught or get hurt. By equaling the odds, gun related violence would decline. They also believe, like the Founding Fathers, that government is not to be trusted.

There a substantial distrust of government on both sides of the political spectrum. In a 2022 Pew Report, only 22% of those polled said they trusted the government. When broken down by race, Asians trusted the government most with 37% as did 29% of Hispanics. Just 24% of Blacks had confidence in the government compared to only 16% of whites. Democrats and Liberals in general expressed the greatest amount of trust with 26% while only 7% Republicans and Conservatives did! Independents also polled at 29%.

Another indicator of the divide is a survey conducted by Quinnipiac University and published in the February 16, 2023 edition of The Hill. According to the poll, 62% of respondents said trusted the police in most or all cases to do the right thing, which may sound good until you look as the responses by race.

72% of whites surveyed said that had confidence in law enforcement to do what was right at least most of the time. 49% of Hispanics agreed (Hispanics are the second largest demographic in the U.S.). However, 66% of Blacks expressed little or no trust in the police to do what was right! Asian responses were too small to tabulate.

That 66% represents 40.1 million people or about 12.1% of our total population. That is a substantial amount, especially when we member that they are affected more by gun related deaths than any other group. They also make up 38.5% of the total prison population. Whites and Hispanics comprise 57.5%. Native Americans are 2.6% and Asians are 1.4%. Nevertheless, Blacks incarceration rates are statistically higher given the percentage of their total population.  

We have to find a balance between reducing gun related violence and protecting ourselves. We require gun registration, age requirements, and waiting periods. Certain types of ammunition and gun modification kits (such as "bump stocks") are already banned. Schools used to offer gun safety classes which have long been discontinued. Law enforcements provide gun safety locks free of charge for anyone who asks.

What else can we do? We can reintroduce gun safety classes for first time purchasers of firearms or require periodic gun safety recertification for all gun owners. This can readily be done through the NRA and Gun Owners of America. In many states, certification classes are required to obtain carry and conceal permits. However, some states have done away with those, citing an infringement of their 2nd Amendment rights.

Currently, there is no registration requirements, background checks, or licenses required to purchase used firearms. Obviously creating a perfect venue for criminals. Perhaps extending the same requirements to buy new firearms should be applied to purchasing used firearms.

Efforts are underway to allow individuals to sue gun manufacturers for a gun related death. That makes as much sense as suing a car manufacturer in death of someone killed or injured in a automobile accident or suing a knife maker for cutting your finger. It's a complete abrogation of personal responsibility in my opinion.

Meanwhile, respect for law enforcement and authority figures such as teachers needs to be reintroduce. It means removing the graphic violence seen in video games which conditions young minds to devalue life. It means moving away the focus on anti-social behavior by reintroducing a sense of respect and responsibility of one's own actions and ending the sense of entitlement.

Guns are essentially a tool. They can be used for a multitude of purposes, most are good but some aren't. Either way it's the intention of the user not the tool that is at fault regardless of their race, religion, or ethnic background. We can reduce accidental shootings by using common sense such as gun safety training and keeping them away from children. But removing guns from law abiding citizens will have no affect on those who intend on harming others. Criminals don't care a whit about laws or restrictions. In fact, I dare say that criminals are the biggest supporters of gun control.

 

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Alarming rise in youth gun deaths breaksdown differently by race

Gun Quotes From 20 of America's Founding Fathers --- 2nd Amendment

Fact Check: Rates of white-on-white and black-on-black crimeare similar

Police Officer Demographics and Statistics In The U.S.

All Across Latin America, Unwed Mothers Are Now The Norm

Hispanic Family Values?

 

African-American Family Structure

The Origins of the 'Acting White' Charge

Public Trust in Government 1958 - 2022

Bureau of Prisons: Inmate Race

62 percent in new survey trust police to do what is right all or most of the time

Crime, Race and Ethnicity in the United States: Where Are We Headed?

Since the beginning of 2023 there has been 15 mass shootings. As of April 10th, there has been 11,500 deaths due to gun violence and dozens of acts of mass violence ranging from the "takeover" of streets and intersections to the swarming and looting of local businesses.  In many cases, the police are simply outnumbered and outgunned. Meanwhile, police officers are either quitting or taking early retirement in droves, leaving cities severely shorthanded.

 As of March 7, 2023, there have been 63 police officers shot in the line of duty.That's up by 33% from 2021. Of those shot, 8 were killed by gunfire. 323 were shot in 2022. Also since the beginning of 2023, there have been 18 ambush-style attacks on police officers. Many were by individuals who had committed by a "bait" crime and waited not just for police officers to show up, but EMS or firefighters to arrive on the scene. There ambush-style attacks have resulted in 21 officers being shot, of which 3 were fatal. In 2022 there were 124 such attacks. The majority of these attacks occurred in Texas, Arizona, California, and Georgia.

According to a October 2022 Pew Research Report, 61% of registered voters said that violent crime was serious issue. 73% of Republicans said the violent crime was serious which needed to be address by Congress.  On the other side of the aisle, just 49% of Democrats saw violent crime as a serious issue. 34% of liberals in general considered violent crime was an issue which needed to be addressed by Congress. Bearing that mind, when we look at violent crime and race, we see an different picture.

According to the Pew survey, 81% of blacks, the majority of whom vote Democrat, saw violent crime as an issue which needs to be immediately addressed while 65% of Hispanics, who also tend to vote Democrat, also saw violent crime as a serious issue. Among whites, 56% also agreed. It's worth noting that just 33% of white Democrats agree with their fellow Hispanic and black Democrats.

On a related note, according to the most recent statistics regarding "hate crime" compiled by the FBI, since 2021 indicated that were 7,074 incidents of a hate crime reported. Of those, the majority---64.8%---were based on race or ethnicity. 15.6% were due to sexual orientation, and 13.3% were the result of the victim's religion.  3.6% were based on gender identity, 1.7% on disability, and 1% was solely on gender.

The report also indicted that 66.7% of the attacks were against individuals while 30% was on property and 3.3% of the attacks were generic. Just over 32% of the attacks were in or near the victim's home or place of work. 16.9% took place on a road, highway, street, sidewalk or alley. 8.1% happened at a school or on a college campus.

7% occurred in a parking lot or garage while 2.8% of the reported hate crimes were at restaurant or diner. 2.7%  took place in a park or public outdoor setting. Finally, 26.1% of the reported hate crimes happened at multiple locations.

When we look at the offenders, the FBI reported that 56.1% were white. 21.3% were black and 13.5% were unknown. When it came to the ethnicity of the offender rather than race, 7.6% were Hispanic or Latino. 8.9% were of multiple ethnicities, while the largest segment---28.1%---were simply unknown. Lastly 82.3% of the offenders were 18 years of age or older.

Using data from the 2021 FBI Uniform Crime Report, the Feds pointed out that while blacks make up just 13% of the U.S. population, they make up 33% of those arrested for non-fatal crimes which include robbery, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery. For more serious non-fatal violent crimes in which violence was used, they made up 36% of those arrested.

Hispanics comprise 18% of the U.S. population and yet are 21% of those arrested for serious non-fatal violent crimes. Whites make of 60% of the overall population and represent 46% of those arrested for non-fatal violent crimes and 39% of the more serious non-fatal violent crimes.  They also are perpetrators of 52% of the violent crimes. Victims were able to identify the race of their assailant in 85% of the cases.

When it came to multiple assailants, the average number of attackers were two, in which 43% of the assailants were black, 38% were white, and 16% were Hispanic. When there was a single attacker, 59% were white compared to 22% who were black and 14% who were Hispanic. As for Asians, they consistently had the lowest percentages of any group with an average of about 5% of crimes committed, which is in proportion to their 5.7% of the U.S. population. 

As most of you already know, the United States has the dubious honor of having the highest percentage of individuals behind bars of any industrialized nation with an average of 505 individuals per 100,000. However, among countries in general, the U.S. is sixth.

El Salvador is ranked first with 605 individuals per 100,000 behind bars. This followed by Rwanda with 580 per 100,000, Turkmenistan with 576, American Samoa with 538, and Cuba with 510. After the U.S., we have Panama's 478 per 100,000. By comparison, Turkey's infamous prison system has 374 while Russia has "only" 304 and Costa Rica, with 301, is among the lowest in the world.

When we examine the latest available information (2021) regarding the prison composition of U.S. prisons, the Prison Policy Initiative reports that the largest racial segment behind bars are blacks. As stated above, blacks make up roughly 13% of the total U.S. population. However, according to the report they comprise 38% of the total number of inmates.

The arrest rate of blacks compared to whites is 6,109 to 2,795 per 100,000 while the conviction and incarceration rate is an astonishing 2,306 to 450 per 100,000. They also make up 30% of those on parole. Hispanics are 30.2% of the prison population. Whites make up the majority of the inmate population with 57.5%. Asians are 1.4% of those behind bars while Native Americans make up 2.6%.

In terms of age, the largest segment are those between ages 36 and 40 at 17.7% of all inmates. This is followed closely by those ages 31 to 35 with 16.9% and those 41 to 45 at 16.7% of the prison population. Next in line are those between 46 and 50 who make up 11.8% of those behind bars. Ages 26 through 30 comprise 11.7% of those incarcerated.

When it comes to the crime, almost half of all federal prisoners---44.7%---got busted on drug charges. Weapons, arson, and explosives charges make up 21.7%. This is followed with 12% charged for sexual offense. Next are those busted on immigration violations. They make up 5.2% of inmates.

Extortion, bribery, and fraud make up 4.3%. Murder and other non-sexual violent crimes comprise 3.2% of federal inmates. 4.8% of inmates were convicted of burglary, larceny, and property offences charges. Robbery is 2.7% of prison population. The balance is made up of those serving time for wide range of charges such as bank robbery, embezzlement, criminal enterprises, and insurance fraud.

The majority of those sentenced to federal prison are slated to do 5 to 10 years (25.5%). 22.6% are sentenced to 10 to 15 years. Those incarcerated for 15 years but less that life make up 15.1%. Those doing up to 20 years make up 12.6% of the inmates. 9.8% are doing 1 to 3 years behind bars with 2.2% doing less than 2 years. Lifers make 2.5% of prisoners.

When it comes to gender, while women are 51% of the total U.S. population, they are only 6.8% of those serving time in a federal prison. Males are by far the largest group, making up 93.2%. The federal prison system doesn't keep track of those who identify of  a gender different from their birth certificate.

So, what does all this mean? The media, as well as those on the Far Left, claim that the majority of people shot and killed by police are those of color, and therefore, call for the total disarming of everyone.  In truth, whites are more likely than any other racial group of being shot by law enforcement.

In 2022 there was 1,097 individuals killed by the police. Of those, 225 were black while 125 were Hispanic. 22 were classified as "other", meaning Asian, Native American, or mixed race. 329 of those killed were white while the race of 321 were unrecorded or undetermined.  We have similar racial numbers going back to 2017. The only number of any real significance  is that the number of those shot and killed by police have continued to increase, from 981 in 2017 to 1097 as noted above.  

Using the FBI's most recent report of crimes committed by race and ethnicity, the "2019 Crime in the United States", there were over 6.8 million crimes committed in 2019. Of those, whites committed 69.4% of all crimes. However, the report also indicates that minorities, particularly blacks, were more likely than not to be stopped and ultimately arrested for a violent crime.  Is that due to institutional racism and "profiling"?

Not according to the report. It stated that blacks were responsible for 55.9% of all murders while whites made up 41.1%. The reminder were categorized as of "unknown" race/ethnicity. In looking at the victims, the report stated that 54.7% were black. Whites made up 32.3% and the victim's race of 3.1% of was undetermined or not listed.

When it came to violent assaults, non-Hispanic whites were likely to be the victim in half of the reported cases that didn't include a weapon. Black and Hispanic victims accounted to the majority of non-fatal firearm injuries.

Concerning robberies, whites victims and black offenders were 12 times more likely than not according to a National Crime Victimization Survey conducted in 2002. When it came to carjacking, blacks were the victim 56% of the time, followed by 21% of whites. Asians and Native Americans were carjacked 16% of the time.

It's worth noting that a 2009 Pew Hispanic Center report mentioned that Hispanics accounted for 40% of all sentenced federal offenders, while is triple their share of the population. Of this, 48% related to immigration issues, 37% for drug violations, and 15% for other crimes.

The 2019 FBI report added that while black youths made up 16% of the under 18 population, they were responsible for 52% of violent juvenile crime. Could this be a symptom of growing up in a single parent household? Perhaps. 64% of black juveniles live in a single parent household compared to 24% of white children and 15% of Asians. 40% of Hispanic kids also fell into this category.

Hispanic juveniles also made up 46.2% of all gang activity. Blacks comprised 35.3% while whites made up just 11.5%. 7% were of other or mixed racial groups. As indicated earlier, the reports stated that larger cities, suburban areas, as well as some smaller cities and towns were where the majority of these gangs were found.

The take away here is that all racial groups are affected by the rise in violent crime, but not equally. Whites are more likely than other groups to commit a crime, most being non-violent, in terms of raw numbers, but this owing to the size of the white population.  Blacks are overrepresented by percentage of population when it comes to offenders. They are also 3 times more likely to be arrested than not. However, blacks are also more likely than not to be the victim, especially if the offender is also black.

Hispanics, especially under the age of 18, are more likely than not to belong to gang. That's particularly so if they're male, come from a single parent home, and live in a urban environment. Next would be black youth (again applying the same criteria), followed by whites and Asians.

However, none of the data indicated that taking guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens would do little to reduce crime, especially violent crimes, but it would likely lead to an increase in potential victims. There's nothing criminals like better than easy pickings.

While tighter restrictions pertaining to gun ownership may slow the sale of certain types of guns, most offenders---85.8%--- acknowledged that they acquired their weapon either from a family member, friend, or the weapon had been stolen at the time it was acquired according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. In addition, 95.6% of those arrested are given the recommended minimum sentence for the use of a firearm in carrying out a crime.

It should be noted that according to the DOJ, 79.1% of all weapons used in carrying out a crime were handguns. Rifles (including semiautomatics like the AR-15) comprised just 11.1%. Of those stolen, 20.5% were .38 caliber revolvers followed by .22 and .357 caliber revolvers  11.7% and 11.6% of the time respectively. 9mm semiautomatic handguns such as a Glock were next with 8%.

Instead of taking guns away from law abiding citizens, the emphasis needs to be on better gun security to reduce their access by criminals and out of the hands of children as well as mandatory firearms training to reduce accidental shootings.

Schools need to adopt better discipline standards in the classroom as well as implement additional programs for pre and after school activities. Curriculums need to include developing critical thinking skills and civics.  Adding community based volunteer programs would also help.

The Justice System needs to reevaluate how it treats juveniles arrested for crimes including shoplifting or bullying. Instead of slapping them on the wrist and letting the go, juveniles need to bear responsibility for their actions. There needs to be expanded rehabilitation programs for non-violent first offenders and tax credits for potential employers. In addition to more and better trained law enforcement,  there needs to be a regular presence in not just high crime areas, but in schools and government housing.

There needs to be an emphasis on keeping adult male parents in the household of their children. However, in the absence of a proper male role model, there needs to be more community based programs aimed at high risk children such as Big Brother/Sister programs. More job based programs also need to be introduced, including trade schools.

The approach we've been using since the 1970's obviously doesn't work anymore, if indeed it ever really worked. Only by instilling a sense of responsibility in youth of all races and ethnicity, better discipline in schools, and providing access to opportunities can we ever hope to reduce the current trend in violent crimes and produce more productive adults.  

 

If you want to know more about this article's topic, please check out the links below. If you enjoyed the article, please consider passing it along to others and don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly please be sure to "like" us on whatever platform you use to read anotheropinionblog.com. It helps with the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Thank you! 

 

FBI 2021 Hate Crime Statistics

U.S. DOJ Statistics on Race and Ethnicity of Violent CrimePerpetrators

Countries with the largest number of prisoners per 100,000of the national population as of January 2023

Prison Policy Initiative: Race and Ethnicity

Federal Bureau of Prisons: Inmate Age

Federal Bureau of Prisons: Inmate Statistics

Number of people shot to death by the police in the UnitedStates from 2017 to 2023 by race

Race and crime in the United States

DOJ: Guns Used in Crimes

National Institute of Justice: Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising

 

Another School Shooting: What--If Anything---Can We Do?

Here we go again. Another school shooting. That the 27th time so far this year. This time 19 students and two adults dead with just days to go before the end of the school year. Many, no doubt, looking forward to carefree summer vacation with trips to Big Bend National Park, one of the many beach on the Gulf Coast, or just staying home and playing with neighborhood friends and help out around the house.

But that's not to be. Not just for those murdered, but for all the students, their parents, their families, and their friends. That Tuesday will forever be seared in their individual and collective memories. It was the day...the moment they had their childhood innocence stolen from them.

That Tuesday, which should have been an ordinary school day like any other, the children of Robb Elementary School in the small town of Uvalde Texas joined an exclusive but growing club of victims of school violence. 

There's nothing special about Robb Elementary or Uvalde Texas. Perhaps it was its very ordinariness which stands out.  Uvalde has a population of just over 15,000. The town (it hardly qualifies to be called a "city") occupies just 7.6 square miles.  It's closer to Mexico, which is just 53 miles away, than to just about anywhere. The closest actual city is San Antonio, which is 80 miles away.

The largest demographic is Hispanic, which make up just over 78% of the population. Whites comprise 19% while Native Americans make up 11%. Blacks or other races barely show up on census record statistics. Voting records shows Uvalde has consistently voted for a Republican president since 1952. The only exception was 1964, when it voted for Democrat and fellow Texan, Lyndon Baines Johnson. 

It's claim to fame are a couple of Old West gunslingers, a few sports personalities, celebrities Dale Evans (wife of Roy Rogers) and Mathew McConaughey, Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad, and former Speaker of House and Vice President under FDR, John Nance Garner.  It's also, according to the magazine, Outdoor Life,  one of the best places in the world to hunt whitetail deer.  

Now it will be remembered alongside Sandy Hook (2012), Virginia Tech (2007), Stoneman Douglas High School (2018), Columbine High School (1999), and some ten other schools known for being the deadliest school shooting in the United States. But, it appears no place is truly safe, not even in locations not known for violence (and especially gun violence).

In 2002, Erfurt Germany, a former student targeted his former teachers among others and murdered 17 before committing suicide. In 1996, a 43 year old man in Dunblane Scotland killed 17 children and one adult, while wounding 15 others before killing himself.

Between 2008 and 2009, 37 students, teachers, and adults were killed in school related shootings (two in Finland, one in German, and one in Greece. In Kerch Crimea Ukraine, in 2018, 20 college students were murdered while 50 were injured. From 2004 and 2020, 15 individuals died in 20 attacks on schools in Mexico. In South America, between 2001 and 2013, six school attacks resulting in approximately 20 deaths.

 In most cases, the perpetrators used handguns. A few used homemade explosives, crossbows, knives, and hatchets. A handful used semi-automatic rifles (which typically get misidentified by the media as "assault rifles") or pump action shotguns. The assailants typically chose self inflicted death or "suicide by cop" rather than surrendering to law enforcement. Only a few were captured by the police.

Excluding incidents which involved former students or adults who had no connection to the school, most of the students involved in the shootings ranged in age from 12 to 16. The majority were male. They tended to be loners, non-physical, or were subject to constant bullying.  Psychologists reported that many were more immature than most of the same age group. They often acted out of emotion, tending to be more impulsive and aggressive.

In 1994, Congress passed the "Gun Free Schools Act" which called for greater school safety plans and adoption of a zero tolerance gun policy, which was generally expanded to include weapons of any sort including knives.

The act was part of the "Improving America's Schools Act", signed by President Bill Clinton, and required school districts to adopt a gun-free policy in exchange for federal funds. A similar law was signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 called the "Gun Free Zones Act of 1990" as part of the "Crime Control Act of 1990". 

The purpose of both acts was to create a gun (and weapon) free area in and around schools in order to provide for a safer learning environment. This included hiring full or part-time security guard, prohibiting admission during school hours (except through a specially designated entrance), adding metal detectors, security cameras, and a mandatory one year suspensions of any student caught with a weapon on school property. In some cases, school districts also included mandatory home visits and/or counseling of the students in order to head off any potential issues.

Some school districts went further and included additional training for teachers which included methods to prevent forced entry into classrooms, extra locks on doors and windows, methods for contacting authorities, and even allowing some teachers or administrative personnel to covertly carry firearms (with proper training and appropriate licenses). The identity of these individuals was restricted to a few administrative personnel to ensure security.

Politically, the topic of classroom safety became the hot topic de jure, usually following some tragic incident, making gun control efforts more successful given the public's mood at the moment. Those on the Left typically call for total banning of certain types of firearms while increasing restrictions on the purchase of firearms along with limiting the sale and type of ammunition.  

Specifically, the Left wants to limit or (ideally) prohibit the sale of semi-automatic rifles (which, based on the design of the stock, are incorrectly labeled "assault" weapons). The availability of actual military grade weapons are already regulated.

The sale of specific types of ammunition such as those designed to penetrate body armor or metal (except to law enforcement and military personnel) which were restricted in 1995. Calibers in excess of .50 are in most cases also prohibited. "Dragons Breath" or "Hell Fire" incendiary shotgun shells (which shoot 200+ yards), hollowpoints, flechette darts, elephant slugs, "flash bang" shotgun shells, or anything containing depleted uranium, radioactive, or poisoned shells are illegal too in many states. 

Following the mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in 2017 in which the alleged shooter, Steve Paddock, used a "bump stock" which in effect, converted a semi-automatic rifle into a de facto full automatic, were banned for general sale and reclassified as a "machine gun", which requires the appropriate licensing. The way the bump stock worked was by using the natural recoil of the weapon to eject, reload, and fire as long as the trigger remained suppressed.

After a series of court hearings, the Department of Justice was successful in getting "bump stocks" re-categorized and banned as of March 19, 2019. It should be noted that in 2017, following the Mandalay Bay shooting, 72% of voters agreed with the decision, of which 79% were Democrats and 62% were Republicans. In 2018, that number increased to 81% of registered voters. The shooting left 60 individuals were killed with another 867 wounded. No motive was publicly disclosed.

While the Left has been pretty unanimous in their call to prohibit or at least restrict many types of gun or ammo, the Right has been a little less unified. Many conservatives are generally in agreement that certain restrictions are necessary, such as prohibiting the sale of armor piercing ammo or availability of certain types of guns and accessories such as the "bump stocks", "sawed off" shotguns (under 18"), or 10+ magazines.  

However, others are of the opinion that the Second Amendment is not open to judicial or political interpretation. The Founding Fathers wrote it with the intention of providing a means for citizens to protect themselves and others from a government bent on overreach and ultimately tyranny.  Therefore, the citizenry should have every means of defense available to them bar none.

They interpret that to mean no registration of guns, ammo, or other weapons, which they see as a thinly disguised attempt at restricting ownership through both intimidation and as providing a handy readymade list of everyone who might resist.

Of course, the primary reason for owning guns is self-protection. Few can argue that crime isn't a persistent and growing problem, and the chief source for school children intent on causing harm. Security locks for most firearms are available for free from various law enforcement agencies or even some pro Second Amendment groups.

It's worth noting that some of the Left would like to see firearms either voluntarily or mandatorily surrendered to the government and destroyed. Their position is that if there are no guns, there will be no shootings. However, that would be equivalent to the position taken by some during Prohibition; if there's no booze, there will be no drinking.

Reality was differently. Liquor became illegal and criminals became rich. If gun ownership was illegal, criminals would still acquire them. Those without guns would simply become potential victims. As the expression goes, when seconds count, the police are minutes away.

We need to accept the fact that we can't prevent violent crime, and that includes school shootings despite our best of intentions. All we can do is mitigate the likelihood of them happening. That means schools need to step up with additional preventative measures.

Metal detectors, security cameras, additional or reinforced locks are good. So are discreetly armed security guards (no one, especially kids, want to feel they are in prison instead of school). So is the barring entry points (save one primary entrance) during school hours. But these only protect those inside of the school, and to a limited measure.

They don't protect from homemade bombs, poisons (which have been used in several instances), or from physical assaults. They don't help on the playground or going to or from the school bus. Nothing will protect everyone from a determined individual, especially if they feel they have nothing to lose.

Therefore more attention needs to be given to students displaying any of the key warning signs like subtle destructive behavior such as "cutting" or are withdrawn (or students who act out through bullying, gang activity, or are persistently disruptive). They could be potential perpetrators of school violence, however, they are just as likely to be victim of someone they routinely pick on.

More parent/school contact is needed. Parents can't just assume that schools are "dealing with the problem". Typically schools aren't aware of the home situation, which are often a contributing factor.  That means everyone, from the bus driver to the principal, needs to make an personal investment in the wellbeing of the students.

Discipline too is often lacking, with the extremes of abuse (including over-prescribed medication in lieu of firm guidance) and total neglect on the other end, as well as physical, emotional, and psychological abuse must be avoided. Children, and especially teenagers, require a balance of support, encouragement, and a gradual loosing of guidance as they age. The "anything goes" attitude does more harm than good.   

Non-abusive ways of securing parent or regular adult involvement are critical. I think the return of art and music classes could help as a way for kids to express they're feelings. Not everyone plays sports. Encouraging academic success shouldn't be viewed as a "white thing" by minorities, who often ridicule "smart" kids who are minorities, resulting in frustration, depression, and acting up in order to fit in.

Households with guns need to ensure their weapons are secure (including periodic checking). They need to pay attention to the video games and sites their child have access to. Personally, I think video games which glorify violence (including killing zombies) are a key factor in youth violence in and out of school. They desensitize killing and accustom the individual to violence and gore. But in real life, once you pull the trigger, there's no "reset button".  No one comes back to life. Saying you're sorry counts for nothing.

 

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Do countries with stricter gun laws really have less crimeor homicides?

 

U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons

 

How gun control works in America, compared with 4 other richcompanies

27 school shootings have taken place so far this year