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The United States’ so-called mainstream media is largely used as a mouthpiece by the anti-gun rights movement. It is therefore difficult to find the truth and accurate information about gun ownership, violent crimes, and so-called mass shootings. But is America really in crisis?
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Take a look at the real data on guns in America
Anyone who is willing to put in a little effort and time can find the truth and figures. We will, even though the Washington Post and New York Times won’t publish the truth about guns or violent crime.
Let’s look at some actual numbers that disprove the media myth that guns are evil. We will also address the claim that lawful gun owners are responsible for violent crime. We’ll also answer whether you are likely to die in mass shootings at any time.
Murders, Deaths and Twisting: The Facts
Nearly 400 million guns are owned by the United States’ 72 million gun owners. Gun ownership is on the rise. Many media outlets want you to believe that all gun owners are a problem. The vast majority of gun owners are law-abiding citizens.
Anti-gun advocates and mainstream media talk about the high number “firearm-related deaths” in the United States as if there is some crazy murder spree. They’ll point out the approximately 45,000 gun-related deaths and then compare it to other topics in an attempt to mislead.
The claim that guns kill more people than car accidents is a big lie, for example. This claim implies that gun accidents cause more deaths than car accidents. This is clearly false.
Also, headlines such as “Murder rate jumps again” and lead paragraphs that state 45,000 people were “killed with guns,” are misdirection. They want their audience believe that those 45,000 Americans were killed. This is another huge lie.
Here’s the truth. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 45.222 people died in 2020 from gun-related injuries. Just over half (24,292) of these people died from gun-related injuries in 2020. While the suicide problem we are witnessing–especially among our armed forces veterans–is a true tragedy, media should be ashamed of themselves for constantly lumping those deaths in with murders and calling it “gun violence.”
How to Break It Down
Other than suicide and murder, 1,500 gun-related deaths also occur. 535 deaths in 2020 were unintentional. This is more than the number of gun accidents. Similar to 611, 400 were undetermined and included law enforcement.
The remaining gun-related deaths that were actually homicides –19,384 in 2020 – we all know that someone has to be involved to make the murder happen. It’s better to refer to “gun violence” as “criminalviolence.”
John Lott, the Crime Prevention Research Center’s chief, stated that gang members are responsible for a large number of the 19,000+ murders.
Lott wrote that “the overwhelming majority of non-adult murders involve drugs gangs and almost all of the victims of drug gangs,” in an article published at TownHall.com in early 2020. “Drug dealers are primary source of illegal firearms.”
It is important to note that, despite the increased number of gun-related deaths in recent decades, the actual rate for gun deaths–a statistic which accounts for the country’s growing population –remains below levels of earlier years.
According to the Small Arms Survey, worldwide firearm-related violent deaths dropped from 3.9 per 1000 in 2016 to 2.7 for 1,000 in 2020.
So-Called “Mass Shootings”
It is impossible to pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV without reading about another “mass shooting” in America. We’ll call them “mass killings” because Americans have guns for many reasons. Most law-abiding gun owners go to the range to practice and shoot.
Gun owners are sometimes referred to as “gun culture” but most gun owners are self-defense-minded men and women. There are also recreational shooters. Mass murderers are called “shooters” by the media, which casts a shadow on the millions upon billions of lawful “shooters” that enjoy exercising their right to keep and carry arms in a variety of ways.
Americans associate mass shooting with high-profile shootings. For example, a mentally ill person walking into his former workplace and setting fire to the remaining employees he doesn’t like. Oder a teen who isn’t allowed to vote, walks into a school and shoots into a hall full of students and teachers.
This is what the media wants you to believe. But the media quotes can be misleading. Because different organizations define “mass shooting” differently, this is why the media misleads.
“Mass Shootings” by Definition
The Gun Violence Archive, an anti-gun website, is the most popular source in media. It defines mass shooting as four or more people being injured or killed in a single incident.
This definition would allow for a police shooting where two officers were hurt and two suspects were killed to be included in the numbers. Since four or more people were either injured or killed in the same incident,
If three criminals enter a house and are shot by a homeowner, the same could happen.
In fact, the archives show that many of the incidents that are specifically mentioned as “mass shootings” and are reported by the media are so far removed from the media-fueled public perception that it’s almost laughable.
Here are some examples: Four Happy Valley, Oregon, teenagers and 20-year-olds fought at a block party. A fight between a Lakeland, Florida boy of 15 years and other men that spilled into a family Christmas party. An apparent gang shooting in New Orleans. A shooting accident in a Cleveland, Ohio bar.
The Crime Prevention Research Center uses the FBI criteria to define mass shootings. This gives you a completely different picture. This list requires that shootings in public places must kill at least four people with the intent of killing. This is what most Americans consider a mass shooting. It also excludes gang fights or killings motivated by other criminal offenses.
An International Comparison
These criteria tell a different story. Take a look at these conclusions from 1998 to 2017.
“Over the past 20 years, our list includes 2,772 attacks and at most 5,764 shooters abroad and 62 attacks within our country,” John Lott, Director of CPRC, wrote in a 2020 paper. “The U.S. accounts for less than 1.13 per cent of mass public shooters, 1.77 per cent of their murders and 2.19 percent percent of their attacks, according to our count. These figures are far lower than the U.S.’s 4.6 percent global share.
Lott crunched the numbers further and found that the United States ranks 56th in terms of murder rate and 66th in per capita attacks. These attacks are much more common than in the United States. However, the U.S. has seen a decline in the number of these attacks over time. The number of mass shootings around the world has increased significantly over time, compared to the U.S.
At the end, the horrific mass murders committed in public places across the U.S. are terrible and must be minimized. But stricter gun laws, such as banning assault weapons, expanding background checks, and closing down gun shows, are not the solution. This is evident from the recent mass shooting in New York. New York has some the strictest gun control laws in America.
Our chances of dying in a mass shooting are very low. This is contrary to what the media would have us believe.
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