The seven myths of mass murder

[SecularMotion]

For the past 15 years my colleagues and I have conducted research on mass murder, the intentional killing of three or more individuals, excluding the perpetrator, during one event. Recent cases of mass murder have pointed to misconceptions about this rare and frightening act, and I would like to shed some light on what I consider the seven myths of mass murder.

-- snip --

Myth 4: Banning assault weapons will lower the frequency of mass murder

The most popular weapon chosen by mass murderers in the US is a 9 mm pistol, often a Glock. Usually they bring two or three firearms to the scene, and assault weapons such as the AR 15 or AK 47 are generally not utilized. Therefore it should come as no surprise that between 1994 and 2004, when the federal assault weapons ban was in effect, there was no decrease in the average number of mass murders per year in the US. However, guns do kill people. As a gun owner myself, and a believer in the Second Amendment, I find it appalling that virtually anyone can purchase a firearm with little effort, money, or time in the US. I believe that firearms ownership is a right that should have requirements: demonstrable competency in its use and mental stability.

http://blog.oup.com/2012/09/seven-myths-of-mass-murder/

[Loudly]

1. No reason to discriminate against hand guns.

They need to be made *particularly* scarce.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. Good morning Shares...

[holdencaufield]

3. OK -- you don't get one ...

... one less to worry about.

Do you have any friends? Get them to do the same .. two or three less to worry about.

[oneshooter]

4. Are you sure that it will be that many?

[holdencaufield]

7. I was being kind ...

... counting imaginary friends and multiple personalities.

[Trunk Monkey]

8. Well Loudly, if niether you nor Shares United purchase a handgun

That will be one gun off the streets.

[4th law of robotics]

5. I like Myth 3: Incidents of mass murder are increasing

When a mass murder occurs, it receives instant and pervasive news coverage. Unfortunately, we are prone to overestimate the frequency of an event by its prominence in our minds, and mass murder is no exception. This is a very rare phenomenon and is neither increasing nor decreasing in the US. Since 1976 there have been about 20 mass murders a year. 2003 was the most violent year for mass murder, with 30 incidents and 135 victims. Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Edmund Oklahoma, and San Ysidro still resonate in the public consciousness, however, reminding us that these events do happen. A positive counterpoint is that rates of all violent crime have significantly decreased over this same time period, from 48 victims per 1000 persons in 1976 to 15 victims in 2010. The most lethal school mass murder in US history was in Bath, Michigan, in 1927, a bombing that resulted in 45 deaths, mostly children in the second to sixth grades.

/I believe there was an OP recently based on the premise that mass murders were on the increase because . . .GUNS!!

[rrneck]

6. Straight info is always welcone. nt

[ileus]

9. However, guns do kill people