TonyD
One Shot One Maggie's Drawers
It's long but here it is...
Mr. VerSteeg,
I was particularly appalled at your version of “responsible” journalism titled, “Change the way Ralphie eyes NRA”, Thursday, December 28, 2006.
I’ve taken the time to rebuke your fiction with fact with information gathered and reported in Gun Facts 4.1, copyright Guy Smith, 2006. That information, as well as my own thoughts, is highlighted in red. Though I severely doubt you’ll let facts get into the way of your views.
”…There, in what police say probably was a gang-related encounter, Jesse Cesar got into a shoving match with Berno Charlemond. It escalated. There was shooting. Charlemond was killed. Then there was more shooting as police chased Cesar, who finally was cornered, arrested and charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder of a police officer.
The dead man, Charlemond, had been arrested a month ago for carrying a gun onto the mall property. Cesar, the alleged shooter, had been charged in August with attempted second-degree murder, but the charge was dropped. He also was arrested in 1999 on a burglary charge.
How do you keep people who don't have Ralphie's noble purpose from getting their hands on guns? At this point, with so many guns in circulation, you probably can't. Guns are everywhere. And even people who don't intend to do harm often end up doing so.”
Fact: Most violent crime is caused by a small minority of repeat offenders. One California study found that 3.8% of a group of males born in 1956
were responsible for 55.5% of all serious felonies.81 75-80% of murder arrestees have prior arrests for a violent (including non-fatal) felony or burglary. On average they have about four felony arrests and one felony conviction.
Fact: Half of all murders are committed by people on “conditional release” (i.e., parole or probation).82 81% of all homicide defendants had an arrest record; 67% had a felony arrest record; 70% had a conviction record; and 54% had a felony conviction.83
Fact: Per capita firearm ownership rates have risen at a steady pace since 1959 while crime rates have gone up and down depending on economics, drug trafficking innovations, and “get tough” legislation.84
Thoughts: Criminals are not motivated by guns. They are motivated by opportunity. Attempts to reduce public access to firearms provide criminals more points of opportunity. It is little wonder that high-crime cities also tend to be those with the most restrictive gun control laws – which criminals tend to ignore.
81 Robert Tillman, “Prevalence and Incidence of Arrest among Adult Males in California”, 1987
82 Robyn Cohen, “Probation and Parole Violators in State Prison, 1991: Survey of State Prison Inmates”, Bureau of
Justice Statistics
83 Brian Reaves, "Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1998", Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 2001
84 Ibid., based on a compilation of 85 separate surveys from 1959 through 1996
”…Last week, The Post ran a front-page story about two such cases. There was 19-year-old Amy Dargis of East Stuart who "found" a stolen pistol outside the apartment she shared with a felon and accidentally shot her 17-year-old sister in the neck, killing her.
Then there was 17-year-old Dustin Williams of Port St. Lucie, who allegedly stole a pistol from a Martin County sheriff's deputy and accidentally shot his 16-year-old best friend through the forehead, killing him.”
So far you are recounting criminal acts perpetrated by, who else but criminals!
”…You'd think that by this time everybody would know that "unloaded" guns often aren't. But apparently not. You'd think that gun owners would know to take extra steps to keep their firearms from being stolen. But apparently not.”
So, it is the law-abiding citizen that is now responsible for the premeditated acts of criminals?
”…There's almost no end to gun violence. People still kill each other in hunting accidents. Young children still find their daddy's guns and kill themselves or siblings. People still lose their temper and, in an act regretted as soon as it's done, settle the argument with a gun too readily at hand. And guns still make suicide a too easy choice for those in despair.
CHILDREN AND GUNS
Myth: 13 children are killed each day by guns
Fact: Adults included – This “statistic” includes “children” up to age 19 or 24, depending on the source. Since most violent crime is committed by males ages 16-24, these numbers include adult gang members dying during criminal activity103 (incidentally, ‘child’ is defined by Webster as a person between birth and puberty, typically 13-14 years).
Fact: Criminals are included - 70% of these deaths are adults, age 17-20, involved in gang warfare. Half of the juveniles killed are involved in gang activity at the time of their deaths, often involved in drug related firefights.
Fact: Suicides and criminals included - These numbers include criminal activities and suicides.104 As suicides make up more than ½ of all gun deaths, the number drops even further, to about 1.3 children a day. 105
Fact: The federal government lists the total firearm related deaths for children were 612, or 1.7 per day, in 1998. 154 were suicides106
Fact: Over 13 teenagers die every day in automobiles, seven behind the wheel.107
Fact: Four children die each day in the U.S. from parental neglect and abuse.108
Fact: For contrast: 1,917 children die each day from malaria109 and 15 men, women, and children per day are murdered by a convicted felon in government supervised parole/probation programs in the U.S.110
103 FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, 1997
104 National Center for Health Statistics, “Rates of Homicide, Suicide, and Firearm-Related Death Among Children -
- 26 Industrialized Countries”, 1997
105 Center for Disease Control, National Vital Statistics Report - Deaths: Final Data for 1998, July 24, 2000
106 CDC WISQARS Injury Mortality Reports, 1981-1998
107 U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2001
108 National Center on Child Abuse Prevention, 1998 Annual Survey
109 Fact Sheet No 178, U.N. World Health Organization, 1998
110 1998 US Bureau of Justice Statistics
Myth: Guns are often used to commit violent crimes
Fact: 90% of all violent crimes in the U.S. do not involve firearms of any type.236
Fact: Even in crimes where the offender possessed a gun during the commission of the crime, 83% did not use or even threaten to use the gun.237
Fact: Less than 1% of firearms will ever be used in the commission of a crime.238
Fact: Two-thirds of the people who die each year from gunfire are criminals being shot by other criminals.239
236 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 1998
237 National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994, Bureau of Justice Statistics
238 FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, 1994
239 Ibid
Mr. VerSteeg,
I was particularly appalled at your version of “responsible” journalism titled, “Change the way Ralphie eyes NRA”, Thursday, December 28, 2006.
I’ve taken the time to rebuke your fiction with fact with information gathered and reported in Gun Facts 4.1, copyright Guy Smith, 2006. That information, as well as my own thoughts, is highlighted in red. Though I severely doubt you’ll let facts get into the way of your views.
”…There, in what police say probably was a gang-related encounter, Jesse Cesar got into a shoving match with Berno Charlemond. It escalated. There was shooting. Charlemond was killed. Then there was more shooting as police chased Cesar, who finally was cornered, arrested and charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder of a police officer.
The dead man, Charlemond, had been arrested a month ago for carrying a gun onto the mall property. Cesar, the alleged shooter, had been charged in August with attempted second-degree murder, but the charge was dropped. He also was arrested in 1999 on a burglary charge.
How do you keep people who don't have Ralphie's noble purpose from getting their hands on guns? At this point, with so many guns in circulation, you probably can't. Guns are everywhere. And even people who don't intend to do harm often end up doing so.”
Fact: Most violent crime is caused by a small minority of repeat offenders. One California study found that 3.8% of a group of males born in 1956
were responsible for 55.5% of all serious felonies.81 75-80% of murder arrestees have prior arrests for a violent (including non-fatal) felony or burglary. On average they have about four felony arrests and one felony conviction.
Fact: Half of all murders are committed by people on “conditional release” (i.e., parole or probation).82 81% of all homicide defendants had an arrest record; 67% had a felony arrest record; 70% had a conviction record; and 54% had a felony conviction.83
Fact: Per capita firearm ownership rates have risen at a steady pace since 1959 while crime rates have gone up and down depending on economics, drug trafficking innovations, and “get tough” legislation.84
Thoughts: Criminals are not motivated by guns. They are motivated by opportunity. Attempts to reduce public access to firearms provide criminals more points of opportunity. It is little wonder that high-crime cities also tend to be those with the most restrictive gun control laws – which criminals tend to ignore.
81 Robert Tillman, “Prevalence and Incidence of Arrest among Adult Males in California”, 1987
82 Robyn Cohen, “Probation and Parole Violators in State Prison, 1991: Survey of State Prison Inmates”, Bureau of
Justice Statistics
83 Brian Reaves, "Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1998", Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 2001
84 Ibid., based on a compilation of 85 separate surveys from 1959 through 1996
”…Last week, The Post ran a front-page story about two such cases. There was 19-year-old Amy Dargis of East Stuart who "found" a stolen pistol outside the apartment she shared with a felon and accidentally shot her 17-year-old sister in the neck, killing her.
Then there was 17-year-old Dustin Williams of Port St. Lucie, who allegedly stole a pistol from a Martin County sheriff's deputy and accidentally shot his 16-year-old best friend through the forehead, killing him.”
So far you are recounting criminal acts perpetrated by, who else but criminals!
”…You'd think that by this time everybody would know that "unloaded" guns often aren't. But apparently not. You'd think that gun owners would know to take extra steps to keep their firearms from being stolen. But apparently not.”
So, it is the law-abiding citizen that is now responsible for the premeditated acts of criminals?
”…There's almost no end to gun violence. People still kill each other in hunting accidents. Young children still find their daddy's guns and kill themselves or siblings. People still lose their temper and, in an act regretted as soon as it's done, settle the argument with a gun too readily at hand. And guns still make suicide a too easy choice for those in despair.
CHILDREN AND GUNS
Myth: 13 children are killed each day by guns
Fact: Adults included – This “statistic” includes “children” up to age 19 or 24, depending on the source. Since most violent crime is committed by males ages 16-24, these numbers include adult gang members dying during criminal activity103 (incidentally, ‘child’ is defined by Webster as a person between birth and puberty, typically 13-14 years).
Fact: Criminals are included - 70% of these deaths are adults, age 17-20, involved in gang warfare. Half of the juveniles killed are involved in gang activity at the time of their deaths, often involved in drug related firefights.
Fact: Suicides and criminals included - These numbers include criminal activities and suicides.104 As suicides make up more than ½ of all gun deaths, the number drops even further, to about 1.3 children a day. 105
Fact: The federal government lists the total firearm related deaths for children were 612, or 1.7 per day, in 1998. 154 were suicides106
Fact: Over 13 teenagers die every day in automobiles, seven behind the wheel.107
Fact: Four children die each day in the U.S. from parental neglect and abuse.108
Fact: For contrast: 1,917 children die each day from malaria109 and 15 men, women, and children per day are murdered by a convicted felon in government supervised parole/probation programs in the U.S.110
103 FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, 1997
104 National Center for Health Statistics, “Rates of Homicide, Suicide, and Firearm-Related Death Among Children -
- 26 Industrialized Countries”, 1997
105 Center for Disease Control, National Vital Statistics Report - Deaths: Final Data for 1998, July 24, 2000
106 CDC WISQARS Injury Mortality Reports, 1981-1998
107 U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2001
108 National Center on Child Abuse Prevention, 1998 Annual Survey
109 Fact Sheet No 178, U.N. World Health Organization, 1998
110 1998 US Bureau of Justice Statistics
Myth: Guns are often used to commit violent crimes
Fact: 90% of all violent crimes in the U.S. do not involve firearms of any type.236
Fact: Even in crimes where the offender possessed a gun during the commission of the crime, 83% did not use or even threaten to use the gun.237
Fact: Less than 1% of firearms will ever be used in the commission of a crime.238
Fact: Two-thirds of the people who die each year from gunfire are criminals being shot by other criminals.239
236 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 1998
237 National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994, Bureau of Justice Statistics
238 FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, 1994
239 Ibid