NYC: Lessons Learned From Fewer Guns
New York City is on track to have fewer than 500 homicides this year, by far the lowest number in a 12-month period since reliable Police Department statistics became available in 1963.
But within the city’s official crime statistics is a figure that may be even more striking: so far, with roughly half the killings analyzed, only 35 were found to be committed by strangers, a microscopic statistic in a city of more than 8.2 million.
The major lesson learned here is one that Gary Kleck knew back in 1994, when he said in US News & World Report (15 Aug 94):
“There is little or no need for a gun for self-protection because there’s so little risk of crime. People don’t believe it, but it’s true. You just can’t convince most Americans they’re not at serious risk.”
Gunloons live in a world of their design; a world where mortal danger lurks behind every corner. In reality, the greatest risk factor involves your own relationships; your chances of being assaulted by a total stranger are very small–the real risk is a domestic altercation that spirals out of control.
Of course, one needs to understand gunloons, for the most part, are frightened and confused people.
