07-08-2015, 11:19 AM
(07-07-2015, 03:09 PM)Johnny Cupcakes Wrote: The way you worded your OP makes it seem like you have a pretty anti-gun control agenda. If not, apologies for assuming.
As for the differences between Miami and Chicago, the crime number differences mainly lie in the fact that Chicago's population is much higher, as it's already been pointed out.
I know that some people scoff at Wikipedia referencing, but here is their page for "List of Cities By Crime Rate". Now, Chicago doesn't report violent crime rate or rape statistics, but you can infer from checking out the stats on Murder, Robbery, and Aggravated Assaults, that it does not stand out massively from other big American cities. Detroit, St. Louis, Baltimore, Cleveland, Oakland, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Memphis, Miami, New Orleans, Washington, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, etc...all rank above Chicago in crime per capita. You have about double the chance of being murdered in Baltimore, or St. Louis, and triple the chance in Detroit and New Orleans as you do in Chicago. This violence is nothing out of the ordinary for major cities, particularly in the south or the Midwest.
Gun violence is an issue. Is it the guns themselves that are the issue? Is it a cultural thing? Is it lack of knowledge & respect for firearms? A mental health issue? A combination of all of the above? I don't know. I do know one thing though.....the United States has set itself apart from the rest of the civilized world when it comes to gun violence. It's a massive issue, and it needs to stop being pushed under the rug.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate_(2012)
What is interesting is that if you look at the crime rates per capita, it is not far off. Using your link to compare figures here (rates based on per 100k people):
Miami - Murder: 16.7
Miami - Violent Crime: 1172
Chicago - Murder: 18.5
Chicago - Violent Crime: NA (doesn't report all of them)
Miami is 15th on that list in violent crime as a whole per capita. Interestingly enough, the violent crime rate in Memphis and Nashville is higher than in Miami per capita, and murder is higher in Memphis, though the firearm laws there are also lax (and even allow for open carry where Florida does not). Memphis is 4th in violent crime and 11th in murder.
In 2007 there was a survey done by USACarry.com regarding firearm ownership by state. TN came in at 43.9% while FL came in at 24.5%. Milwaukee comes in at 9th place on the violent crime list, while Wisconsin places 12th in gun ownership at 44.4%.
I have firearms, I love to shoot, and I feel safer in my home knowing there is a 12 gauge Remington between me and my front door. But the stats are not there to support that more firearms make us safer, that they deter crime. This isn't to say that firearm ownership increases the rate, either. For instance, Sweden is 9th in firearm ownership per capita, but their intentional homicide rate per capita is 0.7. Switzerland is 4th in ownership with a homicide rate of 0.6. Even the U.S. is below the world average of 6.2 with a homicide rate of 4.7 and a top ranking in firearm ownership.
The stats show that there is no firm correlation between firearm ownership rates and the safety of its citizenry. So can we all just stop trying to say there is?
