Mass shootings on the rise: new paper says no
Posted: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 18:06:03
This paper by two very well qualified academics shows many of the myths to be false.
It one of several papers in a volume called Homicide Studies dated February, 2014.
Note: This hit the streets just weeks ago, the latest version this week.
It has already been predicted that the gun grabbers are going to be giving this much publicity.
Download the pdf and then read it at your leisure.
The Abstract.
The pdf: Mass Shootings in America: Moving Beyond Newtown
These are the authors:
It one of several papers in a volume called Homicide Studies dated February, 2014.
Note: This hit the streets just weeks ago, the latest version this week.
The data examined covers 1976 through 2011.All Versions of this Article: current version
Version of Record - Jan 13, 2014
Online First Version of Record - Dec 18, 2013
It has already been predicted that the gun grabbers are going to be giving this much publicity.
Download the pdf and then read it at your leisure.
The Abstract.
The pdf: Mass Shootings in America: Moving Beyond Newtown
These are the authors:
Author Biographies
James Alan Fox is the Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy at
Northeastern University. He has published 18 books, including Extreme Killing: Understanding
Serial and Mass Murder (Sage 2012), co-authored with Jack Levin.
Monica J. DeLateur is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at
Northeastern University. Her current research explores sentencing outcomes and decisions to
prosecute, particularly in human trafficking cases.
You might want to check the US racial demographic percentages against the racial percentages of the shooters. There seems to be a disparity that certain ministers and civil rights chest thumpers aren't going to point out.Myth: Mass Shootings Are on the Rise
The recent carnages in Newtown, Connecticut; Aurora, Colorado; and elsewhere have
compelled many observers to examine the possible reasons behind the rise in mass
murder. The New York Times columnist David Brooks noted the number of schizophrenics going untreated (Brooks, 2012). Former President Bill Clinton and other guncontrol advocates have pointed to the expiration of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban as the culprit, while gun-rights proponents have argued that the body counts would be lower were more Americans armed and ready to overtake an active shooter.
There is, however, one not-so-tiny flaw in all the various theories and speculations for the presumed increase in mass shootings: Mass shootings have not increased in number or in overall death toll, at least not over the past several decades.
The moral panic and sense of urgency surrounding mass murder have been fueled by various claims that mass murders, and mass shootings in particular, are reaching epidemic proportions. For example, the Mother Jones news organization, having assembled a database of public mass shootings from 1982 through 2012, has reported a recent surge in incidents and fatalities, including a spike and record number of casualties in the year 2012 (Follman, Pan, & Aronsen, 2013).
