I read it as a continual turning of which crimes are being prosecuted; a reflection of which groups are in vs. out.
We can agree to disagree. I remain a critic of "credit card gun owners" whose skills are inversely proportional to their safety and marksmanship. Panic buyers driven by marketing exaggerated fears, they disgust me. I have three weapons: (1) 50 cal, rifled, cap, muzzle loader, and (2) pair of flintlock pistols gifted to me. I modified the 50 cal: (1) shotgun butt pad and extension, and; (2) cross wire front bead. It is zeroed by 'range time' and careful selection from testing of powder and round. So I have achieved a three shot, 6" group, at 200 yards. I like the zen of shooting my weapons. This was taken at the Redstone shotgun range where I felt perfectly safe. I've been to Alabama public ranges and they scare me ... too many Visa guns. Bob Wilson
During Marine Infantry Training, I 'accidentally' flipped my M16 into automatic ... OPPS! They also let me load and fire off a short belt of 7.62 from a tripod mounted M60. But I really liked the M79 ... boop, pause, BANG! Night range firing was a hoot too. If you really want some gun fun, join the Marines. They have the best and a reasonable job of range safety. Other than primitive weapons season, I have no interest in public hunting areas and private ones are not that much better. Bob Wilson
I think I’d rather be at a marine firing range than standing next to an 8 year old with a machine gun and his crazy dad
[/QUOTE] I always try to agree tp disagree agreeably. Generally speaking you can get two people with practical weapons knowledge AND opposing views on gun legislation to move the argument most of the way down the field. You're safe as long as you don't go inside. The rounds they use usually have plastic cores and the weapons are modified to cycle with their reduced power. This, and the eye-popping per-round price, reduces the chances of crazy things happening. They generally don't let you stand next to them. I own 5 acres, but there are recent immigrants and a nurse who live close enough to be disturbed by target practice. I pay a nominal fee for 24x7 access to a private range - with the added benefit that I get all of the reloading brass I can carry away. I only stay to shoot when the range is either empty or LEO/USCG training is in progress.
There was a general increase in crime rates during the pandemic, but it was across the board. "Despite politicized claims that this rise was the result of criminal justice reform in liberal-leaning jurisdictions, murders rose roughly equally in cities run by Republicans and cities run by Democrats. So-called red states actually saw some of the highest murder rates of all. This data makes it difficult to pin recent trends on local policy shifts and reveals the central flaw in arguments that seek to politicize a problem as complex as crime. Instead, the evidence points to broad national causes driving rising crime." https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/myths-and-realities-understanding-recent-trends-violent-crime
Article was interesting. William J. Brennan Center for Justice - InfluenceWatch - InfluenceWatch " Brennan Center for Justice (the Brennan Center) was formed as a way to memorialize and put into action the values of left-of-center former Supreme Court Justice William Brennan , the “father of modern judicial activism,” by Brennan’s former clerks.https://capitalresearch.org/article/dismantling-self-government-the-brennan-centers-election-fraud-offensive/" title="" aria-describedby="qtip-0" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(7, 75, 162); transition: all 0.15s ease 0s;">1 The organization is hybrid think-tank and activist center housed by New York University Law School.http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/brennan-center-for-justice-public-policy-advocacy-voting-rights-campaign-finance-criminal-justice-reform. " title="" aria-describedby="qtip-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(7, 75, 162); transition: all 0.15s ease 0s;">2 The Center has devised a “robust toolkit’ of scholarship, legislative drafting, lobbying and legal action”https://web.archive.org/web/20140320161508/https://www.carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/PDF/carnegie_results_sum08.pdf/)" title="" aria-describedby="qtip-2" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(7, 75, 162); transition: all 0.15s ease 0s;">3 that is merged into “an almost seamless effort aimed at action.”https://web.archive.org/web/20140320161508/https://www.carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/PDF/carnegie_results_sum08.pdf/)" title="" aria-describedby="qtip-3" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(7, 75, 162); transition: all 0.15s ease 0s;">4 While the group purports to be “nonpartisan,” it has received substantial funding from George Soros-associated organizations,https://capitalresearch.org/article/dismantling-self-government-the-brennan-centers-election-fraud-offensive/ " title="" aria-describedby="qtip-4" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(7, 75, 162); transition: all 0.15s ease 0s;">5 and is mainly funded by left-leaning organizations, having received substantial funding from other liberal groups including the Kohlberg Foundation, Tides Foundation, Proteus Fund, Joyce Foundation, Schumann Media Center, Public Welfare Foundation, and JPB Foundation.6" "This liberal financing has turned the Center into a cog in the liberal legal movement. The Center pursues a left-wing issue agenda, supporting liberal activist policies on ethnic preferences, restrictions on political campaign speech, and protections for foreign terrorism suspects." Putting that aside what is it that ties all these dangerous cities together - a common link?
I think you've nailed it, @John321 ! I know what you're hinting at, but you won't say the unsayable. So I'll say it. With the exception of one city I mentioned - Manila, capital of one of the few countries with gun laws as lax as the US - these dangerous cities are all..... in America, the country where people have lots of guns! That was what you were hinting at, wasn't it?
That's a mixed bag of guesses ranging from thoughtful to foolish. What does the US Department of Justice say and what did they predict over 25 years ago? For those who do not know what the Office of Justice Programs is: " The Office of Justice Programs is a federal agency that provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and uphold the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. Its six program offices support state and local crime-fighting efforts, fund thousands of victim service programs, help communities manage sex offenders, address the needs of youth in the system and children in danger, and provide vital research and data."