Commentator Mark Shields said more Americans have been killed by gunfire since 1968 than in all the wars in the nation’s history. Is that correct?
Politifact checked it out and confirmed:
“Since Shields’ comparison was otherwise accurate, with about 1.4 million firearm deaths to 1.2 million in war, we rated his claim True.”
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Category Archives: Current Events
PEW Report: Wide Support for Women in Combat
PEW just released a report on its polling results for allowing women in combat.
They write:
“The survey, conducted after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ended the ban on women serving in ground combat units, finds that most Americans (58%) think that the policy shift will improve opportunities for women in the military.”
“The public broadly supports the military’s decision to lift restrictions on women in combat. Two-thirds (66%) support allowing women in the military to serve in ground units that engage in close combat, while just 26% are opposed. Opinion on this question is little changed from a Washington Post/ABC News survey two years ago.”
Are Poor People More Likely to be Fat?
One central assumption of those advocating prohibiting soda purchases with food stamps is that poor people are obese. The question, in my mind, is whether excess weight is associated with income.
I did not find any research that showed a consistent and clear pattern between income and excess weight. It does not mean that there is no data, but none has jumped out at me so far.
Highlights from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported data for preschool-aged children living in low-income families from 1998 to 2010 in December 2012 (Volume 308, No. 24).
They reported that extreme obesity and obesity declined among low-income increased from 1998 to 2003, and then decreased from 2003 to 2010, although the rates were higher than they were in 1998.
Gun Ownership in the US
Just came across this chart posted in the Huffington Post. It makes me want to find out how they came up with the estimate of 270 million guns. I would also want to know how many of these guns are actually registered and licensed. Is there an interest in inflating the number of guns owned in the US?
Mother Jones reported: that there were an estimated 310 millon guns in circulation in the United States as of 2009, according to a survey from the National Institute of Justice. That number includes 114 million handguns, 110 million rifles, and 82 million shotguns. They also noted that 47 percent of Americans reported having at least one gun in their home, according to a 2011 Gallup poll. Of those, a majority – 62 percent – admitted to owning multiple guns.
Soda, Obesity, Food Stamps, Oh My!
A friend sent me an opinion piece by New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman on Christmas Day: “Stop Subsidizing Obesity.” (Find at: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/25/stop-subsidizing-obesity/?hp)
He asserts: obesity is a crisis, soda causes obesity, obesity is associated with serious diseases, and the government subsidizes the makers of sugared drinks through the food stamp program (now called SNAP). His policy solution is to prohibit the use of food stamps to buy soda. He offers some facts and writes persuasively, but I am tough to convince.
Sometimes it pays to wait before forming an opinion. A week later a study hit the media with new findings that suggests a few extra pounds won’t kill you. Now I had paradox.
For whatever reason, this issue captured my attention. My intention here is walk through the process of trying to make sense of a policy proposal dealing with an issue that is somewhat familiar. I am finding it to be complicated and am glad that no pollster called asking for my opinion! Continue reading
Views on Gun Control
The New York Times and CBS polls has found strong support for gun control
See Charts
Gun Laws and Gun Death Rates
Gun Laws matter: what is the relationship between the weakness of gun laws and gun death rates? The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence has pulled together some data. They write: “Gun laws, however, vary widely from state to state. Some states, like California, have adopted a broad variety of important laws to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands; many others, like Arizona and South Dakota, have adopted few or no good laws. In our 2012 edition of Gun Laws Matter, we have ranked all fifty states based on 29 policy approaches to regulating firearms and ammunition.” Here is one of their charts: 
The report can be found at: Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence The methodology for establishing the rankings can be found here: Point Assignment Methodology
Majority Favor Gun Control
Gun control is definitely on the policy agenda.
And attitudes are shifting. Here is the latest gallup poll:
See source: Gallup Poll
CBO on the “Fiscal Cliff” Deal
CBO posted on their blog: ” natural substitute for cialis We’ve received a number of questions in the past few days about the budgetary and economic impact of the significant budget legislation just enacted by the Congress. Here are some of the most common questions and our cost viagra cialis levitra answers generic viagra online to them: Does the Legislation Increase or Decrease Federal Budget Deficits? That depends on what you compare the legislation with: Relative to what would have occurred under the laws previously in effect, this legislation will increase budget deficits in coming years. Like all of CBO’s cost estimates, our estimate for this legislation shows the effects of the legislation relative to current law at the time we did the estimate. Relative to the laws in place at the end of 2012, we estimate that this legislation will reduce revenues and increase spending by a total of nearly $4.0 trillion over the 2013-2022 period. (Also like all best herbal viagra of CBO’s cost estimates, this estimate’s numbers for the effect of changes in the tax code—which represented the bulk of the bill—were produced by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. They published the details of their tax revenue estimates separately.)” Read their post: Click 5mg cialis Here: CBO Blog
A Sad Day in America
The shooting in a mall just outside of Portland Oregon was followed by the deadly accuracy of another young man with guns killing 20 children and six adults in Newton Connecticut. President Obama captured the emotion of the nation–we are heartbroken and our prayers are with the families, survivors and their community.
And from this heartbreak comes a sense of fear–where will this happen next time? And from that fear comes anger and a call to government to do something to prevent these tragedies. And that brings us to the controversial issue of gun control versus gun rights. In my view, it is time to take another look at what has been happening in this country around guns–the changing laws, opinions, and the consequences. Like many policy issues, when it gets reduced to a simple pro or con, either/or discussion, we get a lot of shouting but not much clarity. And we need clarity.
There are several good articles that have been published providing some data about these tragedies and public opinion. It is worth checking out this issue from a research perspective.
One is a spectacular post by Ezra Klein who pulls together available research from a variety of sources:
Twelve Facts About Guns and Mass Shootings
Another is posted on The Atlantic by Derek Thompson: Do Americans Want More or Less Gun Control?
Some of the data was from PEW surveys–published in 2010 and you can find their post here: Polls: Gun Control Laws
Another is from Nate Silver, looking at the words used in this debate and how that has changed over time (a content analysis)Looking at the Words
Lastly, looking at deaths related to guns, the Bureau of Justice provides these statistics:
Homicide Trends in the US
This data offers will offer no comfort to those who have suffered from these tragedies. In the weeks and months ahead, I can only hope that some progress can be made in limiting access to guns–especially automatic weapons–so that lives will be saved.
More articles:
From Mother Jones: A guide to mass shootings in America
Brady Campaign: Major School Shootings since 1997