Rate Of U.S. Gun Violence Has Fallen Since 1993, Study Says

[jimmy the one]

42. the bigger picture

Gun violence in US has fallen dramatically over past 20 years, Justice Dept. report finds.. Murders committed with a gun dropped 39% to 11,101 in 2011, from a high of 18,253 in 1993, according to the report.

Certainly gun murder & rates dropped dramatically over the past 20 years, after RISING dramatically the previous 30 years when the national gunstock tripled & rose from 75 millions to ~225 millions, ~1963 - 1993;
Imagine a bell curve with 1963 to the extreme left & 2012 to the right, with a large upward bump in the middle representing gun murders, THAT is the BULGE which the huge increase in total guns has caused, & it has now, 2013, settled back down to 1963 rates (~3/100k) after reaching about 7/100k about 1993. (And medical treatment for gunshot wounds has improved thus saving more lives now than was possible in 20th century).

Put in perspective, 1963 - 1993 gunstock tripled, gun murder doubled.
1993 - 2013 gunstock increased ~50%, gunmurders decreased by ~half.
Like cattle thieves bragging 'we don't steal cattle as much as we did 30 years ago! we've decreased cattle rustling by 50% but boy have we got rich by selling what we stole the past 50 years!"

To take 1993 as a 'start point' dismisses the 30 year period prior, & makes a false conclusion that gunstock increases helped decrease gunmurder rates, when it was GUNSTOCK TRIPLING WHICH CAUSED MURDER RATES TO INCREASE TO RECORD LEVELS TO BEGIN WITH.

Other crimes committed with guns were down even more sharply — from 1.53 million in 1993 to 467,300 in 2011, a drop of 70%..

Again, implying false credit to guns where none is due; violent crime rates remain near tripled today since early 60's, where national gunstock quadrupled from ~75 millions to ~300 millions. Guns were a large reason for increasing crime & murder.