On Gun Control and Mental Health, Who Gets to Decide Who’s Crazy?

The latest bi-partisan “gun control” legislative proposal reeks of “Do-Somethingism.” Again, given the rampant disasters wrought from the numerous foolish policies enacted due to our bout with COVID-19, we should’ve learned our lesson on “Do-Somethingism.” Give Democrats—and their like-minded enablers—a “crisis” and you’re almost certainly guaranteed a catastrophic Big Government “solution.”

Inevitably, such “solutions” do almost nothing to solve the problems they were meant to solve, and instead burden tens-of-millions of Americans with a host of new problems that are often much worse than the original “problem.” Again, see the COVID scamdemic. If signed into law—and Biden has said he will sign it—almost certainly the new “gun control” legislation proposed by ten democrats and ten republicans will prove about as useful as most of the anti-COVID-19 measures enacted throughout the U.S. the past two-plus years.

And like the near-useless anti-COVID-19 policies, this new “gun control” legislation will do virtually nothing to solve the problem intended—mass shootings—and instead will create a myriad of new problems for innocent Americans. In the statement released describing what’s in the legislation (see previous link), much of the focus of the bill is on “mental health.”

Additionally, the legislation seems to incentivize U.S. states to enact “red flag” laws. Under the heading entitled “Intervention Orders,” the description of the legislation reads:

Provides resources to states and tribes to create and administer laws that help ensure deadly weapons are kept out of the hands of individuals whom a court has determined to be a significant danger to themselves or others, consistent with state and federal due process and constitutional protections.

A red flag law is a “gun control” law that permits police or individuals to petition a state court to order the removal of firearms “from a person who they believe may present a danger to others or themselves.” Nineteen states—almost all blue states—and the District of Columbia have some form of a red flag law.

As Tucker Carlson recently went into great detail to point out, there are huge problems with red flag laws:

First, red flag laws won’t end mass shootings. But red flag laws will end due process…Under red flag laws the government doesn’t have to prove you did anything wrong in order to strip you of your most basic rights. All that’s required to punish you is a complaint, possibly even an anonymous complaint, in which somebody says “you seem dangerous.” Now that complaint doesn’t come from a grand jury, it can come from anyone, including someone who hates you or someone who simply doesn’t like your politics…On the basis of that unproven complaint, you lose your freedom and your ability to defend yourself and your family.

In other words, who gets to decide who’s “dangerous?” Just a couple of years ago, Democrat Congressman Eric Swalwell thought Ben Shapiro was a good example of why America needed red flag laws. Just as Americans should be very cautious when it comes to enacting red flag laws, Americans should also be very hesitant to embrace any legislation, school policy, and the like when it comes to “mental health” and “gun control.” Because, who gets to decide who’s crazy?

According to a recent (2019) study published in Psychiatry Research, “psychiatric diagnoses are scientifically worthless as tools to identify discrete mental health disorders.” This conclusion aligns well with what practicing psychotherapist Gary Greenburg has long said. Upon the release of the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (the DSM 5) in early 2013, The Atlantic asked Dr. Greenburg, “Can you define mental illness?” His reply: “No. Nobody can.”

Dr. Greenburg says that not one of the disorders in the DSM is real. He claims that the DSM is nothing more than an exercise in rhetoric; an attempt to legitimize the practice of psychiatry. In a culture that is increasingly more hesitant to use the word “evil,” Dr. Greenburg concludes that having the American Psychiatric Association (who owns and publishes the DSM) classify certain behaviors as “disorders” is a way to remove the moral aspect behind certain behaviors.

We’ve seen this often with mass shootings. Inevitably, whenever one of these rare but horrific acts of evil takes place, words and phrases like “mentally disturbed,” “mentally ill,” “crazy,” “nut-job,” and “psycho,” are frequently tossed around. This is even done by well-meaning, and sometimes even biblically minded, conservatives.

I believe this is because sickness is much easier to deal with than evil. Sickness can be treated—or we can at least pretend, or look like, we’re treating it—often with expensive drugs and/or therapy (or masks and lockdowns!). When it comes to those who are financially vested in such things, sickness is good for business. However, dealing with evil requires that we define what is evil, and dealing with evil means that we sometimes must engage in matters in the spiritual realm.

Additionally, as we pervert what is sickness along with what is good and evil, what was once good and right can be something that needs to be cured or punished. So if you merely vote the “wrong” way, or attend the “wrong” protest, or say the “wrong” things, or refuse to support what someone else has determined is the “right” thing, you could find yourself on the wrong side of a court ruling when it comes to your guns.

We’ve seen this play out countless times when it comes cancel culture. Just this week, the NFL’s Washington Commanders (Redskins!) lightened the wallet of assistant coach Jack Del Rio to the tune of $100,000 simply because he didn’t tow the preferred (Democrat) line when it comes to the actions at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the numerous (criminal) riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

In other words, the NFL has decided what is “right” when it comes to January 6, 2021, and the George Floyd riots. And if you don’t stick to the (Democrat) narrative on these matters, you will be punished.

When it comes to courts taking our guns, many will say, “But we have the Second Amendment!” True, however, we’re a few Supreme Court Justices away from having that Amendment “interpreted” beyond recognition. Given the numerous vagaries when it comes to mental illness, and given the importance of gun ownership to a free nation, America simply can’t afford to have the courts tell us who’s “crazy” enough to have his guns taken away.

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2022, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

Another School Shooting: Why and What Should We Do?

Two days before the recent mass murder of students at a Santa Fe high school in Texas, very near my home, a 13-year-old girl was killed when the car her father was driving hydroplaned and collided with a school bus. The girl’s father—who was also seriously injured—may face vehicular homicide charges because his tires were too slick.

Two weeks ago we endured the third anniversary of the death of my beloved pastor and father-in-law, David Fitzpatrick. David was killed by an impaired (alcohol and drugs), hit-and-run motorist. David’s killer pleaded guilty to first degree vehicular homicide, among other charges, and is now spending (hopefully) many years in prison.

Last month, just minutes from our home, a man with a history of domestic violence murdered his ex-wife and her sister, shot and wounded a 16-year old, and then killed himself. Thirteen-year-old and two-year-old children also in the home were spared serious injury.

On average, there are about 50 homicides a day in the U.S. Whether through criminal neglect or murderous intent, upon the sudden and tragic death of a loved one—among a myriad of other questions—each day in the U.S., thousands of Americans are left to ask “Why?”

I recall vividly the gut-wrenching moments on May 4, 2015 when we knew there was a bicyclist down in the area where my father-in-law used to ride. The calls to David’s cell phone that would never be answered; the rushed and lonely drive from my job to the crash site, still not knowing for sure whether David was alive; the moment I encountered the Georgia State Patrol officer who confirmed our worst fears; pulling into my mother-in-law’s driveway and watching her, my wife, and my wife’s sister awash in grief; attempting to comfort our four children; making the phone calls to David’s and Margie’s siblings, my parents, et al, telling them of the terrible news—like so many others who deal with such a loss, all of this sent me to an awful place I had never before been and never want to return.

What’s more, the investigation into David’s death led us to discover that his killer had a decades-long criminal past (including multiple drug-related crimes) that was ignored—due to a lack of proper inquiry—by our local law enforcement when he was on trial for other charges in 2010. If the judge then had been aware of these past convictions, David’s killer almost certainly would have then faced serious jail time instead of mere probation. We will always wonder if David might still be alive if the district attorney’s office had done its job in 2010 and presented the evidence needed to put his killer behind bars. As is often the case in these tragedies, we sometimes wonder: would this have changed things? And: how do we prevent this from happening again?

Thus, after once again witnessing students slaughtered at the hands of a lone gunman bent on evil, I understand—though I typically strongly disagree with—those who want “action” from their government on “gun control.” I also understand those asking, “Why did this happen to us?”

As unpopular as this is likely to be, I’m going to say it anyway. The answer to “why” these dreadful things happen is nearly as old as creation itself: sin. As my late father-in-law would sometimes point out in his sermons, if you are hurting, if you are suffering, it is almost always due to one of two things: your sin or the sin of another. Just prior to the first murder in the history of humanity, God warned Cain,

If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.

The very next verse describes Cain murdering his brother Abel. Cain—like the rest of us—should have learned from the failure of his father and mother: walk with God and live in peace, or go your own way, do your own thing—i.e., rule your own world—and live in fear and suffering. Whether we like to admit it or not, operating out of our own selfish desires, each of us is capable of terrible things.

Most of us do not think ourselves capable of murder, but Jesus warned us that anger in our hearts makes us “subject to judgment.” On countless moral matters we have ignored the Word of God and gone our own way. This is the ultimate problem facing the world, and there’s only one solution.

This has always been the case. From very near the beginning of time, human beings have been killing one another, stealing from one another, enslaving one another, sexually abusing one another, and so on. God gave a perfect Law—upon which all other human laws should be based—to reveal to us what is right and what is wrong. Knowing that none of us is capable of perfectly keeping His Law, and thus were (and are) “guilty” of breaking all of it, God made a Way that we all might be “saved.”

Another unpopular sentiment: in the eyes of God, your sin and my sin make us just as guilty as a mass murderer. What’s more, because of our desire to elevate human “wisdom” and determine truth for ourselves while at the same time ignoring God’s wisdom and His eternal truths, we have become blind to what is sin, or “evil.”

For example, large swaths of our culture think that hunting for sport is morally unacceptable but killing an unborn child is okay. Additionally, many Americans—especially so-called “millennials”—believe the “right” to do whatever one wishes in the sexual realm is more important than freedom of speech or freedom of religion.

In other words, and as most in their right-minds well know, many in our culture have stooped to calling what is good evil and what is evil good. To say that marriage is only the union of one man and one woman—in other words, agreeing with God on the matter—will quickly get one labeled a “bigot.” To oppose the radically perverse gender agenda of the modern left—e.g., simply pointing out the biological differences between a male and a female—can draw protests and threats of physical or financial harm.

Since Columbine (1999), using a very liberal definition of a “school shooting,” there have been 287 deaths as the result of someone wielding a gun at or near a school. In that same period, millions of children have been slaughtered in the womb. Countless children and adults alike have suffered—many to the point of death—as the result of divorce, “shacking up,” sexual promiscuity, and the like.

To stem the tide of evil, we must encourage a culture—in our personal lives, as well as our homes, businesses, schools, and government—that embraces the eternal truths of our Almighty God. We will never completely eliminate, or solve the problems of, evil in this world. We will not make any real progress—something that can be achieved—towards defeating evil in this world unless we recognize truly what is evil and what is to be done about it.

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2018, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

On Liberals and the 2nd Amendment: Why Repeal What You Already Ignore?

Make no mistake about it, in the hands of the American left, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is not safe. For that matter, virtually nothing wise or precious or sacred or holy or otherwise good is safe with those corrupted by a liberal worldview. Whether marriage, the family, the church, life in the womb, education, small businesses, fossil fuels, law enforcement, the military, the Constitution, and so on, time and again liberals have proven themselves to be on the wrong side of the truth.

What’s more, in the hands of today’s leftists, the Second Amendment—and anything else in the U.S. Constitution with which modern liberals are unhappy—is in jeopardy whether or not it is “repealed.” As most now well know, John Paul Stevens—a retired associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court—recently gave his direct endorsement to the shockingly foolish—but increasingly popular among democrats—idea that the Second Amendment should be repealed.

Few should be should be surprised by Stevens’ position in this matter. With the way-too-close Heller decision a decade ago, he almost then got his wish. In 2008, liberals were a mere one vote short of effectively killing the Second Amendment. In a republic that properly respected and understood its Constitution, Heller wouldn’t have been necessary, and under the absurd circumstances that such a case should make it to the highest court in the land, the vote to uphold the Second Amendment wouldn’t be close.

As Charles Cooke put it,

Heller recognized what was obvious to the amendment’s drafters, to the people who debated it, and to the jurists of their era and beyond: That “right of the people” means “right of the people,” as it does everywhere else in both the Bill of Rights and in the common law that preceded it. A Second Amendment without the supposedly pernicious Heller “interpretation” wouldn’t be any impediment to regulation at all. It would be a dead letter. It would be an effective repeal. It would be the end of the right itself.

In their efforts to remake America into their image of a leftist utopia, rarely have liberals let the Constitution stand in their way. For decades now—whether as public executives, legislators, or judges—liberals have conveniently ignored the Constitution, or “interpreted” it beyond recognition.

For two centuries the “right” to healthcare, housing, a “living wage,” marriage, education, and the like, escaped the vast majority of Americans—including our politicians and jurists. In the late 19th century, President Grover Cleveland explained well the prevailing thought on government and a citizen’s “right” to public funds. While taking a stand against government aid involving a very deserving orphanage in New York City during a severe economic crisis, Cleveland—a Democrat—said,

I will not be a party to stealing money from one group of citizens to give to another group of citizens. No matter what the need or apparent justification, once the coffers of the federal government are opened to the public, there will be no shutting them again…

In 1887, after vetoing a bill that appropriated $10,000 to buy grain for several drought-stricken Texas counties, Cleveland declared,

Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood.

Nevertheless, in recent decades, as they increasingly made a god of government and sought to build a massive welfare state (through which votes could be purchased), democrats and those like-minded have fully embraced the notion of “paternal care on the part of the government.”

Today’s liberalism stands upon two duplicitous notions that both require a modern “interpretation” of our Constitution: 1.) the godless pagan principle of “Do What Thou Wilt,” and 2.) the presence of an “omnicompetent” Government that is all too eager to mother us. And as C.S. Lewis put it, “If we are to be mothered, mother must know best.”

Of course, and in spite of the claims of modern liberals, such a political philosophy does not bring justice, and it certainly does not promote liberty. On the contrary, as Lewis also noted, such a modern State exists “not to protect our rights but to do us good or make us good—anyway, to do something to us or to make us something.” Something indeed. Lewis depressingly concludes that under such a regime, “There is nothing left of which we can say to them, ‘Mind your own business.’ Our whole lives are their business.”

One of the primary functions of the U.S. Constitution, as the Preamble expressly declares, is to “secure the Blessings of Liberty.” One of the chief means through which such Blessings are “secured” is by ensuring the right of the people to arm themselves. Of course, a government that increasingly makes our “whole lives…their business” is in direct conflict with the idea of securing “the Blessings of Liberty.” Thus, we get “interpretation” of a “living Constitution”—especially when it comes to things like guns.

To repeal a Constitutional Amendment is an arduous effort that would require serious legislative lifting. Thanks to Barack Obama, democrats today are in no shape to pursue repeal of anything, but thanks in large part to men and women like John Paul Stevens, they don’t have to.

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2018, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

To My—and All Other—Students: A Lesson on the Modern Left

As a teacher of public school (17 years), private school (7.5 years), and homeschool (11 years), I have a truly unique perspective on education. I’ve experienced k-12 education from just about every angle imaginable. I’ve taught at day schools and evening schools, and I’ve privately tutored many students. I’ve taught on sprawling 200+ acre campuses in buildings costing hundreds of millions of dollars, and I’ve taught in trailers that would barely keep out a strong gust of wind.

Likewise, I’ve experienced students from almost every background imaginable. I’ve taught students who were homeless and those whose parents who could afford $25,000+ tuition for a year of high school. I’ve taught students who’ve never traveled more than 100 miles from their northeast Georgia homes and those who traveled hundreds and even thousands of miles—from Mexico, Guatemala, China, Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Nigeria, Egypt, and so on—to sit in my classroom. Safe to say, I’ve just about seen it all in k-12 education.

In my quarter-century of teaching mathematics, there’s almost nothing in education that I can say all teachers, students, administrators, parents, and politicians agree upon, save this: we want our schools to be safe. One of the great tragedies of our time has been the wanton slaughter of helpless students, faculty, and staff in what could—and should—be one of the safest places in the world. Sadly, as we are in the shadows of another horrific school slaughter, most of what we are hearing would do virtually nothing to make our schools safer.

As about 100 of the 1700+ students at my high school walked out in protest on March 14 (for a moment I thought it was merely an over-zealous Pi-Day party), I mentioned to a colleague that the whole episode was little more than a ploy to elect more democrats. I found out a short while later that others thought exactly the same.

As most of us watching well knew, several reports have revealed that the student walkouts across the U.S. last Wednesday were far from “organic.” Sadly, liberal organizations across the U.S. have seized on the wicked act that took place at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL in order to push the agenda of the modern left. Note that what we are currently witnessing with the left’s co-opting of American k-12 students is about much more than mere “gun control.”

As they push, prod, propagandize, and otherwise take advantage of youthful students across the U.S., taking guns out of the hands of law abiding Americans is only part of the end game for the American left. Make no mistake about it, young folks, though you are often hailed as our nation’s “greatest resource,” your safety is far from the primary concern when it comes to the American left.

If the left is so concerned with your safety, why for decades have they ignored or lied about science and sound morality and refused to stand up for the most innocent and defenseless among us? For all of your lives you have been deceived about the humanity of the unborn. Can you recall in your science classes where the humanity of the unborn has been a point of emphasis? If you took any form of sex education in a government school, did they tell you that once sperm fertilizes egg, the life of a human being is at stake?

When it comes to violence in our culture, abortion is something that must be honestly discussed. No one should be surprised that a nation which has killed over 50 million of its children in the womb is a violent nation in other ways as well. As Mother Teresa taught us,

I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child—a direct killing of the innocent child—murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?

If today’s left is so concerned with your safety, why have they waged a decades-long war on the oldest, most foundational institution in the history of humanity? As is the case with life in the womb, all of your lives you have been lied to about family and marriage. Tragically, many—if not most—of you are daily experiencing the dismal consequences of these lies. Because of divorce and out-of-wedlock births, through no fault of their own, tens of millions of American school children today are growing up in a home without a mother or a father. It was not supposed to be this way! You deserve better!

As has been pointed out ad-nauseam, children who grow up in broken homes are much more likely to suffer a whole host of negative outcomes. One of the most common traits of the worst murderers in the history of the United States is a broken home. What’s more, American students are FAR more likely to suffer—even to the point of death—from violence and abuse in a broken home than they are from gun violence anywhere. Again, one of the most dangerous places for a child in America is at home with his mother and her live-in boyfriend. Many of you know this all too well.

If modern liberals are so concerned with your safety, why do they continue to lie about the dangers of a hedonistic, promiscuous sexual lifestyle? One of the most shocking statistics of the modern era is that 110 million Americans—over one-third of our population—are now saddled with a sexually transmitted disease. Tragically, many of you know this first hand.

Sexual promiscuity is killing far more Americans than are guns, but you almost never hear such from those who operate from a liberal worldview. What’s more, recent studies have shown—as if we needed more studies to reveal what sound morality has always taught—that teenagers who engage in risky sexual behaviors—especially homosexuality—are much more likely to put their health and lives in danger (along with the health and lives of others) than are those who are choosing to follow the moral precepts of their Creator.

Finally, if liberals are so concerned for your safety, why do they continue to lie about the presence of guns and the frequency of gun violence? The data on guns and violence is clear: some of the safest places in America are littered with guns, while some of the most dangerous places in America have the lowest rates of gun ownership and our strictest gun-control laws.

In addition to these dangerous lies, in order to push their godless, big-government agenda, today’s left—led by Hollywood, the establishment media, the Democrat Party, and yes, most of modern academia—has misled you about the role of good government, the value and purpose of education, the importance of hard work, the state of the earth’s climate, and even what it means to be a male and a female. Thus, for the sake of your spiritual, mental, and physical health, for the rest of your life I encourage you to “walk out” on the modern left. Don’t cast your vote for them, don’t purchase their entertainment, don’t engage their news and information, don’t heed their teaching, and most of all, don’t live out their lies.

(See this piece at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2018, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Virginia Lawmaker Gets It Right on Guns and Gun Violence

Nick Freitas, an Iraq war veteran and a Republican member of Virginia's House of Delegates lays down some facts, data, and logic on guns, gun-control legislation, and gun violence. Watch: 

FYI GOP: This is the kind of politician you need to be running for U.S. Congress.

Guns, Men, and Murder: The Data

I love guns. I’ve been around them all of my life, and I currently own several—for hunting and self-defense. One of my most memorable gifts growing up was a single-shot 410 shotgun (that I got for Christmas when I was 12). Before I was old enough to own a real gun, my friends and I were quite skilled in using all sorts of scrap wood, duct tape, nails, and so on to manufacture the most magnificent replicas. Back then, if I was not playing with some sort of ball, I was in some sort of battle.

Not all of my experiences with guns have been pleasant. One of the toughest moments in the life of my family happened when I was 17. At the time, my 13-year-old brother was hunting turkeys near our home. A tragic accident with a faulty double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun cost him his right arm.

Nevertheless, soon after he had healed from having his arm amputated, my brother was learning to shoot—even long guns and compound bows

My brother shooting a compound bow--with one arm.

—with one arm. (He also played high school baseball and football with one arm.) Now in his mid-forties, he still hunts (and fishes) to this day. In other words, even enduring a traumatic and tragic accident involving a gun as a young teenager, neither he—nor the rest of us close to him—ever let a fear or a hatred of guns creep into our psyche.

After another horrific shooting at a “gun-free” government school, those corrupted by a liberal worldview would have all of us share their fear and hatred (warning: language) of guns, or at least their hatred of guns in the hands of those who stand opposed to a liberal, big-government agenda.

Thus, instead of more good guys with guns, time and again liberals insist that the answer to stopping those bent on doing evil with powerful weapons is to take guns from the good guys. The infamous Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County, FL again made this foolish argument—tragically to “thunderous applause”—when debating the NRA’s Dana Loesch.

Responding to Loesch and pushing democrat talking points to a (mostly) like-minded audience, Israel told the Parkland crowd, “You just told this group of people that you are standing up for them. You’re not standing up for them until you say, ‘I want less weapons.’” Of course, “less weapons” means “less guns,” and “less guns” means elect more democrats so that we can have—among many other terrible outcomes—a bigger government with more “gun control” laws. As the data reveals, in the United States, fewer guns or more gun control laws do NOT equal less murder.

Last year it was widely reported that the vast majority of murders in the U.S. occur within a very small portion of the country. More than half of all murders in the U.S. occurred within just two percent of the counties. Over two-thirds (68 percent) of the murders in America occurred within only five percent of the counties. (There are 3,141 counties, or county equivalents, in the U.S.)

This table shows the worst three percent of counties, in which almost 60 percent of the murders occur. Almost all of these counties are in large urban areas, where democrats rule. Of course, large populations will typically have more murders. What we should consider in this debate is the murder rate in these counties.

Of the 10 worst counties for the number of murders, five of them are also among the worst when it comes to murder rate. Of the 30 counties with the highest murder rate, 19 of them are in the worst three percent for total number of murders. But whether one considers the sheer number of murders, or the murder rate, the other telling and significant piece of data in our debate is the presence of guns in these areas.

City-Data lists the top 101 counties when it comes to “lowest percentage of residents that keep firearms around their homes” and “highest percentage of residents that keep firearms around their homes.” As the table linked above also reveals, of the three percent of counties—95 total counties—with the highest number of murders, 43 of these counties are in the top 101 when it comes to lowest rates of gun ownership.

Only 19 of these counties are in the top 101 when it comes to highest rates of gun ownership. Of the 10 counties in the U.S. with the most murders, all are in the top 101 when it comes to lowest rates of gun ownership.

Additionally, as this table reveals, the overall murder rate for the top 101 of highest and lowest rates of gun ownership is virtually identical. The murder rate for the top 101 counties with the highest rates of gun ownership is 6.28 per 100,000. The murder rate for the top 101 counties with the lowest rates of gun ownership is 6.15 per 100,000. Also, of the 30 counties with the highest murder rate, nine of them are in the top 101 of lowest rates of gun ownership, while five of them are in the top 101 of highest rates of gun ownership.

At the state level—where data is more readily available—the numbers reveal the same: there’s no correlation between the presence of guns and the rate of murder. The average murder rate for the first 25 states (lowest half of gun ownership rates) is 5.0. The average murder rate ranking for the last 25 states (upper half of gun ownership rates) is 4.9. For the bottom 10 and top 10, the average is 4.2 and 4.3 respectively.

The average murder rate ranking for the first 25 states is 24.4. The average murder rate ranking for the last 25 states is 27.6. For the bottom 10 and top 10, the average is 22.8 and 23.7 respectively. Put simply, more guns does not mean more murder. And inversely, fewer guns does not mean fewer murders. Put another way, more laws against gun ownership has done almost nothing to reduce the rate of murder in America.

The only way to reduce murder is to recognize that it is an act of evil that must be dealt with from a proper political and spiritual perspective. Men murder because their hearts are dark. To stop them, we must meet force with force. To change men, we must get to their hearts. Sound legislation can work to protect us, but focusing on the weapon of murder and attempting to legislate away evil by targeting a tool is the height of folly.

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2018, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

U.S. Counties and Murder

(See the column: Guns, Men, and Murder: The Data. See these tables also: Guns and Murder (by County) and Guns and Murder (by State).)

The table below is compiled from, among other sources, research released last year from the Crime Prevention Research Center. The 95 counties below are lowest to highest according to the number of murders that occurred in each county. These 95 counties represent only 3% of all U.S. counties, but nearly 60% of the total number of murders in the U.S.

The counties in blue are the top 101 counties (as ranked by City-Data) for the "lowest percentage of residents that keep firearms around their homes." The counties in red are the top 101 for the "highest percentage of residents that keep firearms around their homes." The counties with the skull-and-crossbones symbol (☠) are in the list of the "30 major U.S. areas with the highest murder rates."

 

Number of Murders	County/Parish	Gun Ownership Rank
31	Denver, CO	48th
31	Richland, SC	90th
31	Pierce, WA	89th
32	Stanislaus, CA
32	Genesee, MI
32	Mercer, NJ	22nd
32	Travis, TX	91st
32	Norfolk city, VA  ☠
33	Chatham, GA
33	New Hanover, NC	86th
33	Montgomery, OH	83rd
33	Hamilton, TN
34	Monterey, CA
34	Lee, FL
34	St. Louis, MO	82nd
34	Douglas, NE	98th
34	Wake, NC	76th
35	Montgomery, AL  ☠
35	Monroe, NY
35	Cumberland, NC	60th
36	Tulare, CA
36	Hennepin, MN	73rd
36	Charleston, SC	71st
38	New Castle, DE	58th
38	Bernalillo, NM	82nd
39	Mobile, AL
39	Hartford, CT	44th
39	St. Clair, IL  ☠
40	Santa Clara, CA
42	Pinellas, FL
43	Davidson, TN
43	Richmond City, VA  ☠
44	Camden, NJ	28th
45	San Francisco, CA
45	Jefferson Parish, LA	96th
45	Delaware, PA
46	Oklahoma, OK	78th
47	Contra Costa, CA
48	Mecklenberg, OH	81st
49	Tulsa, OK	56th
51	Pima, AZ	89th
56	Prince George, MD	43rd
56	Bronx, NY	2nd
57	Pulaski, AR  ☠	26th
57	Hillsborough, FL	67th
57	Suffolk, MA	5th
57	King, WA	63rd
59	Fresno, CA
59	Kern, CA
61	Orange, CA
63	Lake, IN  ☠	97th
63	East Baton Rouge Parish, LA  ☠	57th
63	Hinds, MS  ☠	40th
64	Jefferson, KY	75th
64	New York, NY	1st
66	Erie, NY
67	San Joaquin, CA
74	San Diego, CA
74	Broward, FL	32nd
76	Cuyahoga, OH	37th
77	Jefferson, AL	49th
77	Hamilton, OH	33rd
78	Palm Beach, FL	64th
79	Tarrant, TX	95th
80	Sacremento, CA
89	Franklin, OH	62nd
90	Orange, FL	55th
90	Milwaukee, WI	53rd
91	Queens, NY	7th
92	Jackson, MO  ☠	91st
93	Riverside, CA
96	Duval, FL
100	Dekalb, GA
100	Allegheny, PA	70th
102	Alameda, CA
103	Kings, NY	3rd
105	DC   ☠	4th
110	San Bernardino, CA
116	Bexar, TX	94th
118	Essex, NJ  ☠	9th
132	Fulton, GA  ☠
136	Dallas, TX	79th
137	Clark, NV	87th
139	Marion, IN  ☠	86th
145	Shelby, TN  ☠	59th
150	Orleans Parish, LA ☠	61st
163	St Louis city, MO  ☠	50th
186	Maricopa, AZ	88th
211	Baltimore city, MD  ☠	51st
212	Miami-Dade, FL	41st
248	Philadelphia, PA  ☠	13th
321	Harris, TX	98th
341	Wayne, MI	74th
476	Cook, IL	19th
526	Los Angeles, CA	36th

Copyright 2018, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com