Texan 'self-help' a bit bloody

Amarillo Globe News ^ | 9/29/03 | Wendy Marsh

[Maria S]

In Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle, there has been an increase in deaths by guns lately.

Many Americans have almost given up on the possibility of cutting back on the carnage caused by handguns. But a new, factual 469-page study issued by the Brookings Institution offers a massive amount of information on our gun culture which might be interesting to those of us who live in Texas.

"Evaluating Gun Policy" surveys all of the fears and phobias behind the fact that 36 percent of American households own a gun, with at least 200 million firearms in private circulation. (Less than 10 percent of guns are owned by women.)

In 1999, 28,874 Americans died by gunfire. The rate of death by gun violence for young Hispanic men was several times the rate for non-Hispanics; the death rate for young black men was 25 times the rate for white males.

In 1998, more than 30,000 Americans took their own lives. Nearly 68 percent chose to use a gun. The major legal method used to curb the abuse of guns is to restrict their sale.

There are 4,000 gun shows, such as the ones in Amarillo, held annually, along with sales at countless retail outlets. The federal Brady Law has prevented the sale of guns to some 41,500 persons with records of crime or mental instability. But the desire and demand for guns continues.

Thirty-three states now allow the sale of concealable weapons; their owners proclaim that such guns decrease crime.

There are some initiatives designed to cut back on gun violence. Federal and state laws have increased prison penalties, the buy-back of guns is widely used and education on the dangers of guns is increasing. Some time ago, Harvard University held a conference comparing the experience of Canada, where guns are almost nonexistent, to the very different American scene. No one at the conference could explain the stark contrast except by the decades of relying on guns in the Western frontier.

When President Reagan was seriously wounded by a gun in an assassination attempt, many were persuaded that the time to curb guns in America had finally arrived. But even that could not induce Congress to act - even though up to 70 percent of the American people want to regulate guns.

Homicide is always a strange and baffling event. Theologians have not yet resolved why Cain killed Abel, but the violence and threat of violence caused by the presence of millions of guns in the United States has to be a sign that Americans, especially Texans, believe in self-help in a way no other civilized society allows.

The recent study by the Brookings Institution furnishes objective and unbiased information that can be helpful in working toward the resolution of a seemingly intractable problem. Let us hope so.

Wendy Marsh is a resident of Amarillo.

[Maria S]

Wendy Marsh is the wife of one of Amarillo's wealthiest men; she is liberal.

Question: is the Brookings Institution a liberal think tank?

[Lexington Green]

Freedom - There WILL be casualties.

[SF Republican]

Wendy Marsh is the wife of one of Amarillo's wealthiest men is she married to Stanley Marsh 3rd?

[CindyDawg]

How many of the gun related deaths were committed by licensed gun holders? How many gun deaths have been committed with guns bought at gun shows? Some data seems to be missing here.

[Billthedrill]

Guns are hardly "almost non-existent" in Canada, although a lot of people in Ottawa want them to become that way. The author is evidently unaware of the current grass-roots rebellion going on in that country over a draconian registration policy that has ballooned in expense. In fact, she isn't, evidently, very well informed about quite a bit on this issue.

[SwinneySwitch]

Please, don't confuse Wendy with facts!

[45Auto]

violence...... caused by the presence of millions of guns

That's all any thinking adult needs to read to know how big an idiot the author is. Its the same old crap recycled yet one more time - guns cause violence, blah,blah, blah. These morons spew out some numbers and right away we are supposed to think they are 'experts' on statistical analysis. In California, if one "weeds out" certain areas in certain cities, then the number of gun-related incidents shrink to an imperceptible level. Remove south-central Los Angeles, and west Oakland, and society in general is far, far more peaceful and far, far more armed that this idiot would have us believe. Another lie-beral with a Utopian agenda. Ran as fast as you can away fromt this kind of thinking - it has led to the bloodiest mass murder of the 20th century, most of it carried out by - governments - against unarmed civilians.

[FLcitizen]

When will we end the insanity and enact laws similar to the gun-free paradise of England or Australia for that matter. The statistics speak for themselves!

“Gun crime in England and Wales increase by 35% last year and criminals used handguns in nearly 50% more offences, Home Office figures revealed today.” The Guardian, 01/09/2003
“In all, handgun crime rose 46% year-on-year.” The Guardian, 01/09/2003

Oh, how ignorant we silly, foolish Americans are. <\sarcasm off>

[FreedomCalls]

The major legal method used to curb the abuse of guns is to restrict their sale.

It ain't working so well. Next idea?

[in the Arena]

barf bang...

[45Auto]

I don't think Ms. Marsh read the report, she just made up her own stupid ideas and spewed thema out as conslusions of this so-called "study". Here is the intro to the book:

"Evaluating Gun Policy Effects on Crime and Violence

Jens Ludwig and Philip I. Cook, eds.

Brookings Institution Press/Brookings Metro Series 2003 c. 456pp.

DESCRIPTION

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.

But that is not the whole story. Guns also provide recreational benefits and sometimes are used virtuously in fending off or forestalling criminal attacks.

Given that guns may be used for both good and ill, the goal of gun policy in the United States has been to reduce the flow of guns to the highest-risk groups while preserving access for most people."

I still maintain that Ms. Marsh is an idiot.

[MD_Willington_1976]

There are guns in Canada..16 million registered guns for a population of less then 30 million people...many more are not registered...And the Inuit and Northern aboriginals dont have to register their firearms and they get free ammunition from the government to boot...

Yeah with all the guns taken away up there (Canada) it is soooo much safer.

I know of 2 gruesome murders that took place near where I used to live in Canada where a father offed his family with a doublesided axe and another where the father offed the kids with a baseball bat then burned down the house...

Just because there aren't readilly available guns up there doesn't stop people from using other implements...machettes, baseball bats, axes, knives....etc

I know quite a few people up there that have all kinds of guns, and my guns (The newest of the lot is about 50 years old) are still in Canada since I am not allowed to bring them down here to the USA...

[patton]

Thirty-three states now allow the sale of concealable weapons; their owners proclaim that such guns decrease crime.

LOL. Ignorance at its finest.

[meyer]

Question: is the Brookings Institution a liberal think tank?

A "liberal think tank" - that seems like an oxymoron.

[Maria S]

"Wendy Marsh is the wife of one of Amarillo's wealthiest men is she married to Stanley Marsh 3rd? "

Yep! Anyone out there ever heard of the "Cadillac Ranch"...the 10-14 (I never can remember exactly) cadillacs buried about halfway down, in a pasture along I-40 right outside of Amarillo. And their huge home, on several acres, is named "Toad Hall". He is...um...a somewhat eccentric person. She's on the school board, etc.

[Klickitat]

Where was the barf alert? This isn't even worth responding to. The facts are out there but mentally challenged leftists like this can't understand them. It's beyond their capabilities.

[driftless]

Yes indeed I plan to go by the ranch sometime in the future. My future wife and I want to see as many of the wonderful features along old Route 66 as we can, and the Cadillac Ranch is on the list. We just returned from out west (Arizona, New Mexico) yesterday and drove through a number of streets and roads along the old route. Unfortunately the Texas section was not on our list. Instead we experienced the wonderful nothingness around Odessa on Interstate 20.

[45Auto]

So you can see, Ms. Marsh invented her conclusion out of thin air - that guns cause crime and violence. This is exactly the opposite conclusion of the study, i.e., that criminals use guns in crime, and that most gun owners are not criminals. The emphasis, therefore, should be on reducing crime, not removing the one element that keeps crime from skyrocketing out of control - the armed citizen. Liberals are truly stupid.

[Dog Gone]

Question: is the Brookings Institution a liberal think tank?

One of the most liberal.

[Centurion2000]

In 1999, 28,874 Americans died by gunfire.

So what ?

More people die from cars ... should we ban them too ....

I hate liberals.