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>Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 19:52:33 -0500
>To: extropians@extropy.org
>From: Ian Goddard <Ian@Goddard.net>
>Subject: Re: GUNS: Misleading report by a true believer.
>Reply-To: extropians@extropy.org
>
>At 11:19 AM 03/05/2001 -0800, Joe Dees wrote:
>
>>* "After Australia and England and Wales, the highest prevalence of crime
>>was in Holland (25 percent), Sweden (25 percent) and Canada (24
>>percent). The United States, despite its high murder rate, was among the
>>middle ranking countries with a 21 percent victimization rate," the
>>London Telegraph said.
>>
>>Didja see it? The quick gloss-over disclaimer 'despite its high murder
>>rate". The white dog truth and bare bones facts are that the US has far
>>and away the highest peacetime murder rate in the industrialized
>>countries. The reason? It is so easy for criminals to get weapons
>>reservd for, and used for, war in most other countries.
>
>
> IAN: In the US there was less gun control in the
> 1950s (40s, 30s...) than now, thus it was easier
> get guns. So according to your hypothesis -- that
> easier access equals more murders -- there should
> have be more murders when guns were easier to get.
> I don't know the statistics, but I believe (though
> I might be wrong) that murder has been increasing
> even though gun-control laws have increased. See
> if US murder statistics support your hypothesis.
> I know Washington DC has had total gun control
> for years and afterwards broke murder records.
>
Actually, until this last year, murder rates are down across the board in big cities. This has quite a bit to do with youth demographics (just now beginning to rise again) and the decline of crack murders. As for the easy availability of guns in NYC, they were just the Holland tunnel away, in New Jersey. As for murder increasing, figure in per capita, but also consider the intangible effect of war (WW II, Korea, Vietnam) disgusting a large percentage of the male population with violence in general, while the froggy ones were left dead on the fields of battle. That hasn't happened lately. Then there's the escalation of the drug war to consider. There were a lot of murders in the Prohibition era, too. It just ain't that simplistic.
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------
>Visit Ian Williams Goddard ---> http://www.erols.com/igoddard
>_____________________________________________________________
>
> "The more restrictions and prohibitions in the world,
> the poorer people get." Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)
>
>
>
>
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