Posted on 10/17/2013 11:02:04 AM PDT by marktwain
There are two models of modern murder that are used in the debate about how to deal with crime. The assumptions about reality that the models are based on are significantly different, which results in consistently different prescriptions for public policy.
The first model, which I call the "Progressive Elite" model, has these basic assumptions about criminal homicide and its causes:
1. The majority of people, except for the exceptional elite, are just moments away from committing a criminal homicide. They have poor impulse control and fly into rages which escalate into homicidal rages if a weapon happens to be present. For this reason, only those in the elite, who have become experts in government through the attainment of public office, employment by police agencies, or attendance at ivy league schools, should be allowed access to weapons that might be used when these uncontrollable, emotional fits, strike. Just a few months ago, it was reasonably summarized by David Frum at thedailybeast:
Most gun casualties occur in the course of quarrels and accidents between people who would be described as law-abiding, responsible gun owners up until the moment when they lost their temper or left a weapon where a 4-year-old could find it and kill himself or his sister.2. The second model, which I call the "Trust the People" model, holds that the vast majority of criminal homicides are committed by a tiny fraction of society, that they are easily identified by their past history of violence, cultural set, and lack of civilized values and discipline instilled by a stable home life.
Actually, as I showed in More Guns, Less Crime, about 90 percent of adult murderers have a violent criminal record. About 89 percent of juvenile murderers have a criminal record for serious crimes.
-- In 2010, there were 36 accidental deaths involving kids under age 10. Most of those children were also shot by adults with criminal records. Accidental deaths are very small portion of total gun deaths. You can look up the data for other ages or all ages here (http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe). Note that "unintentional" means "accidental." If you want to look up other issues there, please note that the CDC measures homicides differently than the FBI.
While homicides result from a variety of factors, the vast majority are committed by a small, violent and often gang-affiliated segment of society.
"We're dealing with a tiny distinct, population in the city, and that tiny distinct population of gangs that drives the worst violence can be quiet. But it often doesn't take much to get it going," Kennedy said.
"Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: 1. Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. 2. Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise depositary of the public interests."--Thomas Jefferson to Henry Lee, 1824. ME 16:73
NOTE: Justifiable homicide, by definition, occurs in conjunction with other offenses.Therefore,
the crime being committed when the justifiable homicide took place must be reported as a separate offense. Reporting agencies should take care to ensure that they do not classify a killing as justifiable or excusable solely on the claims of self-defense or on the action of a coroner, prosecutor, grand jury, or court.
The following scenario illustrates an incident known to law enforcement that reporting agencies would not consider Justifiable Homicide:
17. While playing cards, two men got into an argument. The first man attacked the second with a broken bottle. The second man pulled a gun and killed his attacker. The police arrested the shooter; he claimed self-defense.The scenario quoted is a virtual shorthand for the Progressive Elite model. The UCR even goes so far as to direct reporting agencies *not* to take into account the findings of coroners, prosecutors, grand juries or courts about whether a homicide is justifiable or not; only the FBI's extremely limited definition is to be used.
The rarest, but most serious form of self-defense with a gun is a defensive killing. The FBI does not publish statistics on self-defense killings per se, but it did start publishing counts of civilian justifiable homicides gathered through their Supplementary Homicides Reports program in their 1991 issue. For a variety of reasons, the FBI counts of civilian justifiable homicides represent only a minority of all civilian legal defensive homicides.I have not found any work that refutes these findings. Those who cling to the Progressive Elite model simply state the FBI numbers as fact.
People have been murdered long before the invention of gunpowder. Cain-Abel........................
A large percentage of domestic homicides are done by people with prior criminal records. Gang bangers have relatives and girlfriends too.
Cast Iron Fry Pans need to be regulated.
Maybe we should ALL carry swords, like in the old days....................
The twentieth century has seen over 100,000,000 deaths caused by the actions of just three governments. The German Nazis under Hitler, the Chinese Communists under Mao, and the Russian Communists under Stalin. "Elitists" one and all.
Regards,
GtG
The number of gun crimes by those "in the heat of passion" is miniscule. Non-zero, of course, but tiny by comparison.
Carrying or brandishing?..................
Carrying.
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