Can you tell the difference?
Suicide: the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally
An interesting comparison made by PBS commentator Mark Shields contrasts war-related deaths and deaths by gunfire. Since 1968, when Robert Kennedy was assassinated, homicide statistics have been gradually accumulating. Shields said, "More Americans have died from gunfire than died in…all the wars of this country's history, from the Revolutionary through the Civil War, World War I, World War II, in those 43 years. I mean, guns are a problem. And I think they still have to be confronted." The table below lists the number of casualties due to combat and other severities contracted during the Revolutionary War up until the current Iraq War.
| Revolutionary War |
4,435
|
| War of 1812 |
2,260
|
| Mexican War |
13,283
|
| Civil War (Union and Confederate, estimated) |
525,000
|
| Spanish-American War |
2,446
|
| World War I |
116,516
|
| World War II |
405,399
|
| Korean War |
36,574
|
| Vietnam War |
58,220
|
| Persian Gulf War |
383
|
| Afghanistan War |
2,175
|
| Iraq War |
4,486
|
| Total |
1,171,177
|
The comparison made in this study is titled "Deaths by Gunfire," which includes suicides and accidental deaths involving firearms. In the chart below, deaths by firearms clearly outnumber the deaths of Americas soldiers.
| 1968 to 1980 | 377,000 |
| 1981 to 1998 | 620,525 |
| 1999 to 2010 | 364,483 |
| 2011 | 32,163 |
| Total | 1,384,171 |
Sandy Hook Shooting
After the shooting, Newtown residents were adamant about enforcing stricter gun control laws, but because Newtown is the home of the National Shooting Sports Foundation their suggestions were met with a lot of resistance. According to the Huffington Post, "Newtown in recent years has issued about 130 gun permits annually. Police say the town received 79 permit applications in the three months since the Dec. 14 massacre, well over double the normal pace. 'A good percentage of people are making it clear they think their rights are going to be taken away,' said Robert Berkins, records manager for Newtown police. The increase in permit applications in Newtown occurred around the same time that firearms sales surged around the country driven by Washington's new focus on gun control. Both sides of the debate have been well represented in Newtown, with a population of about 27,000. The horror of the massacre inspired a groundswell of gun violence-prevention activism by new, local organizations such as Sandy Hook Promise and Newtown Action Alliance."
Aurora Colorado Shooting
Many have questioned whether or not stricter gun laws would have prevented Adam Lanza from murdering 20 children and six adults on Dec. 14. After shooting his mother at their home in Newtown, Conneticut, Lanza drove to the elementary school she worked at and opened fire on innocent children and administrators. According to the Huffington Post, Lanza had a extreme obsession with violent video gaming and murderers. Investigators found spreadsheets Lanza had created that included information about mass murderers.
The weapons Lanza used during this massacre consisted of an AR-15 style rifle, bushmaster .223 caliber rifle with high capacity 30 round clips, glock 10 mm handgun, 12 gauge shot gun and a 9mm handgun.
 |
| http://abcnews.go.com/US/location-adam-lanzas-body-mass-shooters-unknown/story?id=18100476 |
The weapons Lanza used during this massacre consisted of an AR-15 style rifle, bushmaster .223 caliber rifle with high capacity 30 round clips, glock 10 mm handgun, 12 gauge shot gun and a 9mm handgun.
 |
| http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ct-school-shooter-made-combat-weapon-article-1.1220431 |
After the shooting, Newtown residents were adamant about enforcing stricter gun control laws, but because Newtown is the home of the National Shooting Sports Foundation their suggestions were met with a lot of resistance. According to the Huffington Post, "Newtown in recent years has issued about 130 gun permits annually. Police say the town received 79 permit applications in the three months since the Dec. 14 massacre, well over double the normal pace. 'A good percentage of people are making it clear they think their rights are going to be taken away,' said Robert Berkins, records manager for Newtown police. The increase in permit applications in Newtown occurred around the same time that firearms sales surged around the country driven by Washington's new focus on gun control. Both sides of the debate have been well represented in Newtown, with a population of about 27,000. The horror of the massacre inspired a groundswell of gun violence-prevention activism by new, local organizations such as Sandy Hook Promise and Newtown Action Alliance."
On July 20, 2012 James Holmes opened fire on a crowd inside a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve people were killed, and 58 others were injured. The New York Times interviewed a man by the name of Jamie Rohrs who was holding his four-month old son while trying to protect his fiance. “It was just chaos. You started hearing screaming. You looked up and people were falling. It was like a dream,” Rohrs said.
 |
| http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/01/aurora-shooting-suspect-james-holmes-can-face-trial/ |
The rumors started escalating after this horrific incident took place, one of the most inhumane being that Holmes may have insanity issues, therefore the court would have a much more difficult time giving a death penalty sentence. The Telegraph has an article covering the issues of his sanity levels and whether the death penalty was, in fact, the answer. Some attorneys think the law we live by is unfair due to the confidential information acquired and publicized about each criminal. According to The Telegraph, "Attorneys say the law is unfair to defendants who invoke it because it requires the disclosure of potentially incriminating information, such as mental health records, while those who plainly plead not guilty are not required to turn over any evidence."
The weapons used in this massacre include three different types of guns, a semiautomatic variation of the military’s M-16 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and at least one .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol. The New York Times goes into detail on how weapons like the ones used by Holmes are easy to find and purchase these days. A new phenomenon of using various weapons at once and running from target station to target station is almost a sport in and of itself these days. According to The New York Times, "Holmes used all three types of weapons inside the theater as well, first firing the shotgun, then using the semiautomatic rifle until its 100-round barrel magazine jammed, and finishing off with a pistol. (A second .40-caliber pistol was also found at the scene, though it was unclear whether it had been used in the theater.)"
 |
| http://justpiper.com/2012/07/jp-opinion-arsenal-chilling-jessica-redfield-theater-shooting-victim-escaped-shooting-month/ |
