Myth: Mass Shootings Are on the Rise
The recent carnages in Newtown, Connecticut; Aurora, Colorado; and elsewhere have
compelled many observers to examine the possible reasons behind the rise in mass
murder. The New York Times columnist David Brooks noted the number of schizophrenics going untreated (Brooks, 2012). Former President Bill Clinton and other guncontrol advocates have pointed to the expiration of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban as the culprit, while gun-rights proponents have argued that the body counts would be lower were more Americans armed and ready to overtake an active shooter.
There is, however, one not-so-tiny flaw in all the various theories and speculations for the presumed increase in mass shootings: Mass shootings have not increased in number or in overall death toll, at least not over the past several decades.
The moral panic and sense of urgency surrounding mass murder have been fueled by various claims that mass murders, and mass shootings in particular, are reaching epidemic proportions. For example, the Mother Jones news organization, having assembled a database of public mass shootings from 1982 through 2012, has reported a recent surge in incidents and fatalities, including a spike and record number of casualties in the year 2012 (Follman, Pan, & Aronsen, 2013).

Author Biographies
James Alan Fox is the Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy at
Northeastern University. He has published 18 books, including Extreme Killing: Understanding
Serial and Mass Murder (Sage 2012), co-authored with Jack Levin.

Monica J. DeLateur is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at
Northeastern University. Her current research explores sentencing outcomes and decisions to
prosecute, particularly in human trafficking cases.

Mass Shootings in America: Moving Beyond Newtown
James Alan Fox and Monica J. DeLateur

Abstract
Mass shootings at a Connecticut elementary school, a Colorado movie theater, and
other venues have prompted a fair number of proposals for change. Advocates for
tighter gun restrictions, for expanding mental health services, for upgrading security
in public places, and, even, for controlling violent entertainment have made certain
assumptions about the nature of mass murder that are not necessarily valid. This
article examines a variety of myths and misconceptions about multiple homicide and
mass shooters, pointing out some of the difficult realities in trying to avert these
murderous rampages. While many of the policy proposals are worthwhile in general,
their prospects for reducing the risk of mass murder are limited...

...Author Biographies
James Alan Fox is the Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy at
Northeastern University. He has published 18 books, including Extreme Killing: Understanding
Serial and Mass Murder (Sage 2012), co-authored with Jack Levin.

Monica J. DeLateuris a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at
Northeastern University. Her current research explores sentencing outcomes and decisions to
prosecute, particularly in human trafficking cases.

About the Homicide Research Working Group

The Homicide Research Working Group has the following goals:

to forge links between research, epidemiology, and practical programs to reduce levels of mortality from violence,

to promote improved data quality and the linking of diverse homicide data sources,

to foster collaborative, interdisciplinary research on lethal and non-lethal violence,

to encourage more efficient sharing of techniques for measuring and analyzing homicide,

to create and maintain a communication network among those collecting, maintaining and analyzing homicide datasets, and

to generate a stronger working relationship among homicide researchers.

Organized at the 1991 American Society of Criminology (ASC) meeting, the Homicide Research Working Group now has hundreds of members representing many countries and academic and practice disciplines at national, state, and local government public and private agencies. It maintains an active listserv, a newsletter, and the journal Homicide Studies, published by Sage. It has held three-to-five-day meetings each year since 1992, at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) in Ann Arbor, the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the Centers for Disease Control and Emory University in Atlanta, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada in Ottawa, the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, the Firearms Division Training Center, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, in West Virginia, Loyola University in Chicago, the University of Central Florida in Orlando, the University of Missouri in St. Louis, and the Epidemiology and Prevention for Injury Control Branch, California Department of Health Services in Sacramento, and at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in Minneapolis. It also holds workshops at the ASC and other professional meetings.

The interdisciplinary focus of the Homicide Research Working Group has been recognized by support from a number of agencies and organizations, including the National Institute of Justice, which published the proceedings of the 1992-1998 Annual Meetings, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which published the 1999-2001 Annual Proceedings, and the many agencies that have hosted an Annual Meeting. (To order the Proceedings, contact the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) at 1-800-851-3420 or download the Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of the proceedings from the HRWG Web site).

In Minnesota,

"Since the "shall issue" permit law went on the books a decade ago, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has recorded five instances of permit holders justifiably using a firearm. During that same timeframe, permit holders have committed 124 firearm-related crimes."

Seems to contradict that old saw of the NRA of more guns, less crimes.

_Joe_ Feb 25, 2013

To really put things in perspective, you not only have to take into account the unreported data, but also this:

120,000 people have carry permits in MN

124 crimes over a decade means that 0.1% of the people with carry permits have committed firearms related crimes. This also does not require a "victim" and could include improper transport, carrying somewhere you're not supposed to, carrying with a BAL of more than .04, etc..


MicheleBachmann Feb 27, 2013

@_Joe_ You are spouting their bullshit made up talking points. Guns cause murder and suicides. It's a fact.

_Joe_
_Joe_ Feb 27, 2013

@MicheleBachmann I'm not making up anything. And I don't need talking points. I have my own opinions. What I DID do, was cite the Star Tribune figures that came out recently and then applied simple math.

Liberals find comfort level in 'NPR of gun clubs'

Carla Marinucci
Updated 10:05 am, Thursday, January 2, 2014

Marlene Hoeber is feisty, tattooed, transgender, a self-described feminist, a queer activist - and a crack shot with her favorite "toys," guns of just about every kind.

One thing she's not - and proud of it - is a member of the National Rifle Association.

"We make ourselves a special place where we don't have to hear about the 'Kenyan Muslim socialist' in the White House," said Hoeber, a biotech equipment mechanic who says she's politically "somewhere around Emma Goldman," the turn-of-the-20th century anarchist.

Instead, Hoeber - whose array of firearms includes an M1 carbine rifle from World War II and a custom-made .44-caliber pistol - and other left-leaning gun lovers have their own organization: the Liberal Gun Club.