Speedo66
Member
The title of this thread is also the title of an article in today's NY Times. It's focus is that it's not assault weapons causing the carnage in the US, it's handguns. And the article is not anti handgun, it just illustrates how ineffective assault weapon laws are. It also goes into how African-Americans make up only 6% of the population, but are the victims and perpetrators of approx. 50% of gun murders, which are currently approx. 11K per year.
It goes on to quote justice dept. studies that show the US assault weapon ban did nothing because rifles were barely used in crimes to begin with. Another study said if they reimposed the ban, the difference in crime statistics would be negligible.
Very good article, although somewhat strange to find it published in the NY Times.
Some quotes:
"More than 20 years of research funded by the Justice Department has found that programs to target high-risk people or places, rather than targeting certain kinds of guns, can reduce gun violence."
“Should it be renewed, the ban’s effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement,” a Department of Justice-funded evaluation concluded."
"A closer look at the social networks of neighborhoods most afflicted, he says, often shows that only a small number of men drive most of the violence. Identify them and change their behavior, and it’s possible to have an immediate impact."
I guess it's easier to target "assault weapons" than to try and change certain peoples behavior.
Here's the complete article, it's worth a read:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/s...n-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=0
It goes on to quote justice dept. studies that show the US assault weapon ban did nothing because rifles were barely used in crimes to begin with. Another study said if they reimposed the ban, the difference in crime statistics would be negligible.
Very good article, although somewhat strange to find it published in the NY Times.
Some quotes:
"More than 20 years of research funded by the Justice Department has found that programs to target high-risk people or places, rather than targeting certain kinds of guns, can reduce gun violence."
“Should it be renewed, the ban’s effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement,” a Department of Justice-funded evaluation concluded."
"A closer look at the social networks of neighborhoods most afflicted, he says, often shows that only a small number of men drive most of the violence. Identify them and change their behavior, and it’s possible to have an immediate impact."
I guess it's easier to target "assault weapons" than to try and change certain peoples behavior.
Here's the complete article, it's worth a read:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/s...n-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=0