Not to mention a very narrow-minded, myopic view of the situation. One singular solution (banning guns, banning silencers, etc) leaves a plethora of other viable solutions (constitutional ones) on the shelf and would not address the problems those other potential solutions employed together might.
"First, they’re rare, and the people doing the shooting are different. The majority of gun deaths in America aren’t even homicides, let alone caused by mass shootings. Two-thirds of the more than 33,000 gun deaths that take place in the U.S. every year are suicides.
And while people who commit suicide and people who commit mass shootings both tend to be white and male, suicide victims tend to be older. The median age of a mass shooter, according to one report, is 34, with very few over 50. Suicide, however, plagues the elderly as much as it does the middle-aged.
Second, the people killed in mass shootings are different from the majority of homicides. Most gun murder victims are men between the ages of 15 and 34. Sixty-six percent are black. Women — of any race and any age — are far less likely to be murdered by a gun. Unless that gun is part of a mass shooting. There, 50 percent of the people who die are women. And at least 54 percent of mass shootings involve domestic or family violence — with the perpetrator shooting a current or former partner or a relative.
The historical trends for different kinds of gun deaths don’t all follow the same course. While data suggests that the number of mass shootings similar to the Las Vegas event has gone up, particularly since 2000 (a), homicide rates have fallen significantly from their 1980 peak and continued on a generally downward trajectory for most of the 21st century.
Meanwhile, suicides are way up, with the biggest increases among women. The trends are different because the situations are different and the people are different. Maybe different solutions are warranted, as well.
(a) This is a tough thing to measure, partly because definitions of what counts as a “mass shooting” vary widely. Some counts have the numbers holding fairly stable over time, however these include a lot of shootings that aren’t very similar to what happened in Las Vegas for instance, someone killing their direct nuclear family members in their home.
(Click the link below for a graphic documenting all types of firearm related deaths in the U.S., as well as for the rest of the article.)
Mass Shootings Are A Bad Way To Understand Gun Violence
"First, they’re rare, and the people doing the shooting are different. The majority of gun deaths in America aren’t even homicides, let alone caused by mass shootings. Two-thirds of the more than 33,000 gun deaths that take place in the U.S. every year are suicides.
And while people who commit suicide and people who commit mass shootings both tend to be white and male, suicide victims tend to be older. The median age of a mass shooter, according to one report, is 34, with very few over 50. Suicide, however, plagues the elderly as much as it does the middle-aged.
Second, the people killed in mass shootings are different from the majority of homicides. Most gun murder victims are men between the ages of 15 and 34. Sixty-six percent are black. Women — of any race and any age — are far less likely to be murdered by a gun. Unless that gun is part of a mass shooting. There, 50 percent of the people who die are women. And at least 54 percent of mass shootings involve domestic or family violence — with the perpetrator shooting a current or former partner or a relative.
The historical trends for different kinds of gun deaths don’t all follow the same course. While data suggests that the number of mass shootings similar to the Las Vegas event has gone up, particularly since 2000 (a), homicide rates have fallen significantly from their 1980 peak and continued on a generally downward trajectory for most of the 21st century.
Meanwhile, suicides are way up, with the biggest increases among women. The trends are different because the situations are different and the people are different. Maybe different solutions are warranted, as well.
(a) This is a tough thing to measure, partly because definitions of what counts as a “mass shooting” vary widely. Some counts have the numbers holding fairly stable over time, however these include a lot of shootings that aren’t very similar to what happened in Las Vegas for instance, someone killing their direct nuclear family members in their home.
(Click the link below for a graphic documenting all types of firearm related deaths in the U.S., as well as for the rest of the article.)
Mass Shootings Are A Bad Way To Understand Gun Violence
