Anonymous wrote:OP: I am aware of why you are thinkin of this topic. Its been 10 years since Columbine; 10 years, and that is not 11 years or 9 years, but rather, 10 years. I guess 10 is really meaningful or something.
But Dateline aside, the gun homicide rate is down 49% since 1993, and the public is generally unaware. This was discussed recently elsewhere on the forum.
I've tried to follow this issue recently. Finding non-partisan facts is tough; everyone has an agenda and both sides distort the facts badly.
So when the Pew research article came up, I was surprised by this fact:
"Despite national attention to the issue of firearm violence, most Americans are unaware that gun crime is lower today than it was two decades ago. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, today 56% of Americans believe gun crime is higher than 20 years ago and only 12% think it is lower."
Link: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/07/gun-homi...ince-1993-peak-public-unaware/
Of course, there are still too many violent crimes in the US; even one is too many. ANd as for school shootings we need a zero tolerance policy so that no child is ever harmed in any school in any way, of course.
But, for society as a whole, is the public being misled that this is as big a national issue as its made out to be? Is the bulk of the problem going away on its own in America? Can any society ever really get to "zero" ? and what would the cost be to civil rights to do that?
Maybe there are other law-enforcement priorities we need to look at? For example, law enforcement has radically changed recently as far as arrests for use of marijuana, the focus on Muslim-Americans in areas like NYC, and that city's "stop and frisk" policy. Maybe its time to think outside the box on other areas?
Anonymous wrote:OP: I am aware of why you are thinkin of this topic. Its been 10 years since Columbine; 10 years, and that is not 11 years or 9 years, but rather, 10 years. I guess 10 is really meaningful or something.
But Dateline aside, the gun homicide rate is down 49% since 1993, and the public is generally unaware. This was discussed recently elsewhere on the forum.
I've tried to follow this issue recently. Finding non-partisan facts is tough; everyone has an agenda and both sides distort the facts badly.
So when the Pew research article came up, I was surprised by this fact:
"Despite national attention to the issue of firearm violence, most Americans are unaware that gun crime is lower today than it was two decades ago. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, today 56% of Americans believe gun crime is higher than 20 years ago and only 12% think it is lower."
Link: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/07/gun-homi...ince-1993-peak-public-unaware/
Of course, there are still too many violent crimes in the US; even one is too many. ANd as for school shootings we need a zero tolerance policy so that no child is ever harmed in any school in any way, of course.
But, for society as a whole, is the public being misled that this is as big a national issue as its made out to be? Is the bulk of the problem going away on its own in America? Can any society ever really get to "zero" ? and what would the cost be to civil rights to do that?
Maybe there are other law-enforcement priorities we need to look at? For example, law enforcement has radically changed recently as far as arrests for use of marijuana, the focus on Muslim-Americans in areas like NYC, and that city's "stop and frisk" policy. Maybe its time to think outside the box on other areas?
Anonymous wrote:I watched Dateline's episode marking the 15 year anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.
In 1998, I was a junior in high school and remember being told about it over the intercom system.
The next year, a 6 year-old girl in my school district, Kayla Rolland, was shot and killed by a classmate.
Our school was locked down for the rest of the day.
Anyone here have experience with something like this?