Gun Homicides are Down Because...

The latest Pew Research shows that Gun Homicides have been on a downward trajectory and are down nearly 50% since 1993.

The Question is: Why?

Gun Nuts and Shills for Weapon Manufactures claim it is because of the massive upsurge in weapons in the Country.

Of course, this is fallacious.

The number of laptops, PCs, Macs, Android devices, IPods, gaming systems has dramatically spiked since the 1970's, as well. The number of Micro-Breweries making craft beers has exploded in the last 20 years. The rate of church attendance and religious self-identification has dropped dramatically in the last 20 years.

I could argue the number of Internet diversions has allowed people to vent on-line and the ability to get their murderous rages out in first person shooter games has led to the decrease.

Or that because Americans now have a choice of finely crafted, tasty and quirky beers their soporific effect has stopped shootings.

Or that the abandonment of Christianity and adoption of Atheism is responsible for the drop in violence.

Because A, Therefore B.

Gun Maniacs also choose to base all comparisons against 1993 because 1993 had the highest number of recorded Gun Murders at 18,253. The figure in 2011 was 11,101.

Now, as a corollary let's simply not call the killing of a 2 year old by her 5 year old brother using a weapon specifically made for children and called "My First Rifle" a homicide.

Let's call the shooting of a 6 year old by her 13 year old brother a game of hide and seek and simply quote a neighbor, "I don't know how it went down but he shot his sister." See? Not Gun Violence.

Or let's call the Halloween Party shooting of a 9 year old dressed as a skunk by her adult cousin "an accident" and classify it simple assault and another gun violence data point vanishes and the downward trend continues.

Thus, by reclassifying these as Accidents or Negligent Discharges we can skew the numbers even more. Each shooting or killing is transferred allowing the "homicide rate" to drop 49%!!!!

When the total number of firearm fatalities is compared for 1993 and 2011 we see: 39,595 and 32,163. Recall that 1993 was the Peak Year with the highest recorded year for Gun Murders and suddenly that 49% drop trumpeted by Unrestricted Gun Violence Supporters is placed in the proper context.

The Pew Research paper also states that while the number of guns has increased to 310 Million the percentage of households owing weapons is the same (43%) as 1972. And importantly (according to data from a 2007 U.N. study) the U.S. firearm homicide rate and overall homicide rate are higher than those in Canada, Australia, Japan and in Western European and Scandinavian nations.

Thus, when put into context we see that Gun Deaths are cycling upwards from a low point in 1999.

The fact is what the NRA and Gun Owners of America apparently want is This.

Whose Side are You On? Gabby Giffords or Alex Jones?

Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband NASA pilot Lt. Cmdr Mark Kelly have begun a Campaign Americans for Responsible Solutions against Gun Violence

Meanwhile, Alex Jones went on Piers Morgan Show and showed the True rambling, insane Face of American Gun Owners. Alex Jones, Zardoz LaPierre, James Holmes, Adam Lanza and the Murderers in Chicago are the Reality of Guns in America.

The "Argument" that Gun Laws would not have stopped Columbine or The Dark Knight Killings or the VA Tech Massacre, or the Northern Illinois shootings or the NRA-endorsed Newton Connecticut Killings or the Tinley Park Lane Bryant Murders or the latest 4 shot to death in Aurora, Colorado is used by the NRA and their Republican Allies in order to distract Americans from the facts about Gun Violence in America.

The Unrestricted Gun Violence Supporters continue to make the "Argument" that Gun Laws don't stop Gun Crimes.

How is this an Argument? When has any Law, in and of itself, ever stopped a Crime? 

Despite all the laws we have against Murder, Theft, Assaults, Vandalism and Tax Evasion these crimes continue to occur daily.

Since the Laws we have don't stop those actions does that mean we should ignore the crimes and abolish the Laws?

This is an Argument Gun Manufacturers have crafted. For the very simple reason that Gun Control hurts their profits. We have been flooded with Hundreds of Millions of Firearms. They make money as we are killed by their products.

The NRA exists to represent the Interests of Firearm Companies. Wayne LaPierre and The Republicans stand with and for the Rights of the Merchants of Death.

Who is representing the American People?

The Perfect Hippie Hypocrisy Fallacy

One of the cries amongst the Defenders of the Rich is the OccupyAmericaRevolution is being conducted by people who use products created by Corporations. Ha ha! Gotcha! You stupid leftist hippies are committing moral hypocrisy. Products are made by corporations.

It reminds me of the time, while I was in the Corps when I asked a fellow devildog how he could justify the deaths of innocents in Iraq. He got kind of upset by that and while we debated around the Just War Theory he ended up, and I'll paraphrase, 'You're an atheist so you get to live a life of debauchery but, you can't chide me on the deaths of innocents because I'm a christian, therefore already ahead of you morally, and asking me to stand against an unjust war and the deaths of innocents is not allowable.'

So Gus Lubin over at Business Insider has a photo of the OWS overlayed with captions highlighting smartphones, clothing and other products being used by the protesters. Ha ha!

It's a variation on the 'You can't be against the Iraq War if you drive a car' and stems from the Fallacy that in order to combat indecency you have to be a paragon of Righteousness.

Well, We are the 99% not the Amish... One need not divest themselves of every modern manufactured product in order to decry inhumane working conditions, rampant pollution, violations of law or union busting behavior by Corporations.

Of course, while the BrandySnifter Class may chuckle while viewing the photoshopped image, the fact is we are not demanding a luddite existence, we are demanding justice, an end to the massive transfer of wealth from the 99% to the 1%, the predatory lending, the criminal derivatives ponzi schemes, the off-shoring of jobs and an end to the attack on Unions, Pell Grants, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

The Rightwing 1% sycophants are demanding those who might protest live the austere lives of aesthetic monks (or Paladins) in order to voice criticism over the Rampant Rapacious Crimes of the Wall Street Thieves and the Trillions of Dollars they've stolen. Of course, it's all part of the plan from the Guardians of the Rich as they attempt to undercut the OccupyAmericaRevolution via any means possible.