US facing wave of murders and gun violence (Some Blaming 9-11???)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060820/pl_nm/crime_usa_dc_1

ROXBURY, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Analicia Perry was kneeling to light a candle at a makeshift shrine to her brother when she was shot in the face and killed -- four years to the day after her brother was gunned down on the same spot.

The slaying of the 20-year-old mother -- on a narrow street behind a police station in Boston's poor Roxbury district last month -- is one of the shocking examples of a rise in the murder rate across the United States that is raising questions about whether police are fighting terrorism at the expense of crime.

In a shift from trends of the past decade, violent crime is on the rise, fueling criticism of Bush administration policies as a wave of murders and shootings hits smaller cities and states with little experience with serious urban violence.

From Kansas City, Missouri, to Indianapolis, Indiana, places that rarely attract notice on annual
FBI crime surveys are seeing significant increases in murder. Boston, once a model city in America's battle against gun violence, is poised to eclipse last year's homicide tally, which was the worst in a decade.

Explanations vary -- from softer gun laws to budget cuts, fewer police on the beat, more people in poverty and simple complacency. But many blame a national preoccupation with potential threats from abroad.

"Since September 11, much of the resources that were distributed to crime-fighting efforts in Boston and other major cities were redistributed to fight terrorism," said Jack Levin, director of the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University.

<snip>

"The top five states with the highest gun death rates are five states with incredibly weak gun laws," he said, listing Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, New Mexico and Wyoming.

<snip>

[Warpy]

1. Hopelessness

The worst thing this gang of thieves and nutcases has done is destroy hope in this country, the hope of getting ahead, of living a decent life, able to afford necessities, of being able to enjoy a retirement.

This maladministration killed all that stone dead.

People who see no hope in being law abiding are going to consider the alternative. People who are constantly tantalized by images of wealth in the media being portrayed as perfectly normal are going to be angry and some of them will act out.

That's what we're seeing, folks. Hopelessness and rage.

[billbuckhead]

2. In France, millions riot and only 1 person dies but in gun crazed America

We lose 30,000 fellow citizens a year to guns, over 100,000 wounded and 100 billion dollars in damages. Ever notice how American cities and towns are rated low in quality of life compared to other advanced nations cities and towns. It's our promiscuous gun laws. It's the gun nut-neoCON agenda espoused by the likes of Cheney, Bolton, Norquist, Scalia, DeLay, Ney, Cunningham, Ted Nugent, Charlaton Heston, Zell Miller ad nauseum, that guns are always the answer that leads us into Iraq.

"Compared with other developed nations, the United States is unique in its high rates of both gun ownership and murder. Although widespread gun ownership does not have much effect on the overall crime rate, gun use does make criminal violence more lethal and has a unique capacity to terrorize the public. Gun crime accounts for most of the costs of gun violence in the United States, which are on the order of $100 billion per year."

<http://www.brookings.edu/press/books/evaluatinggunpolicy.htm>

[Redneck Socialist]

3. There is nothing soft about MA's gun laws.

They are some of the strictest in the nation, so by way of explanation that idea's just silly. I also doubt that redistribution of policing dollars toward anti-terra efforts has spurred anyone to kill. I will agree however that directing money toward fighting (largely imaginary) terrorists instead of routine policing does make cleaning up the aftermath of murders a bit tougher.

[billbuckhead]

4. Neighboring Vermont has almost non-existant gun regulations

Japan has virtually no guns and virtually no gun deaths.

[Sadie5]

5. It's getting bad out there

In my area a few weeks ago the mother of a boy who had argued with another teen was driven by his mother to gun down his foe. If you can imagine a mother who would drive the car as he teenage son shoots another kid.

[mtnester]

6. It becomes concerning when people you know GET guns

because they do not trust the government

This is the #1 reason I am hearing from 1st time gun owners lately.

(Of course, that is the biggest reason we stocked up on extra supplies of ammo ourselves...so I can join the crowd in that respect)