How to reduce our murder rate by 30 to 50 percent

CeasefireUSA: The GVP Report - September 29, 2015
In The News ► Professor Daniel Webster, Johns Hopkins University, talks about a specific policy path that will reduce our murder rate. "Our gun laws allow too low of standards for legal gun ownership and are too weak to hold people accountable when their actions put a gun into the hands of criminals." ► A new study in the Journal of American Medical Association Pediatrics, State Gun Law Environment and Youth Gun Carrying in the U.S., Xuan & Hemenway, finds that stricter state gun laws help keep firearms out of the hands of youth. ► A new study in the Journal of Criminology, Concealed Handgun Licensing and Crime in Four States, Charles Phillips et al, finds that issuing more concealed carry permits does not decrease crime. ► New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for national gun violence prevention legislation during eulogy for a top state attorney who was killed by a stray bullet. "It's not enough for NY to pass a gun law and close the front door when the guns are coming in the back door." ► Missoula, MT City Council will consider a proposed ordinance to require background checks on all gun sales.  Some city council members are frustrated with the state legislature's refusal to deal with this issue. ► U.S. Court of Appeals struck down some of Washington, D.C.'s gun laws while upholding others. The court ruled the District's prohibition on registering more than one gun a month was unconstitutional. The court upheld provisions that require gun owners to be photographed and fingerprinted and complete a firearms safety course. ► The Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission ruled that a campaign finance complaint against the NRA can move forward. The complaint alleges that the NRA's federal PAC was used to fund contributions to candidates for state office in violation of CT law. ► NY Times, When Columbine Is Invoked, Fears Tend to Overshadow Facts. Some scholars recommend examining school shooting not as a discrete phenomenon but as one aspect of this country's broader wave of gun violence. ► The Trace, When a Bullet Enters a Body: Gun Violence as Seen by a Trauma Surgeon. Unless you get shot in the heart - in which case you will die in minutes - it will usually take hours to die. In the movies you always die quickly from a gunshot wound. But not in real life. Community Support ► Lonnie & Sandy Phillips, We Lost Our Daughter to a Mass Shooter and Now Owe $203,000 to his Ammo Dealer. We brought our lawsuit because we thought it was outrageous that companies could sell a dangerous man an arsenal without getting any information from him. We did not seek any money in our case. ► Spocko, Crooks and Liars, It's Time to Change How the Media Covers Shootings. Here are some suggestions on what can be done and how you could help. ► Laura Finley, PeaceVoice, Guns No Answer to Rape on Campus. Studies do not bear out that arming women helps prevent sexual assault or domestic and dating violence. In part, this is because most frequently sexual assault occurs within a dating relationship. ► Katie McDonough, Fusion, The Boyfriend Loophole: How a law with two missing words is letting domestic abusers buy guns. Under current law, people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence are only banned from owning guns if they are married to, have children with, or live with their victims. ► WUSA9, Hundreds Protest Firearms Being Sold Near School in McLean, VA. "I'm very concerned that they chose to put a gun store in the backyard of a grade school." The new store is just yards from the back of Franklin Sherman Elementary School. ► Professor Jennifer Tucker, Wesleyan University, The Not-So-Wild West. The Wild West was the setting for some of the nation's first gun-control laws. People couldn't just walk around with guns. There was a clear understanding that civilized people did not walk around America's towns and cities carrying guns. ► James Andres, Western Michigan University Herald, More Guns Won't Make You Safer. The claim that everyone is able to defend themselves - that they can instantly turn into a stone-cold killer, that they will be in a position to respond effectively, that they will hit their target - is something that should be challenged.  It's That Easy One of the missions of States United to Prevent Gun Violence is to educate supporters on the issues of gun violence because we know that increased awareness is the first and most important step toward creating positive social behavior around gun violence.   Please consider forwarding the GVP Report to friends and family - this alone, is a step toward creating a healthier America! What the Gun Lobby is Doing ► Donald Trump's new gun policy lines up perfectly with the NRA's agenda.  In 2000, Trump supported the ban on assault weapons but his newly released policy paper on guns is a full-throated endorsement of the NRA's wish list. ► Jeb Bush promotes his record on guns by claiming, "In Florida we have a background check." But he never mentions the private gun transfers, with no background check, that are legal in the state. ► The Florida legislator who brought America the Stand Your Ground/Shoot First law has just introduced a bill that would set a new legal standard for establishing when self-defense claims can block prosecutors from taking a case to trial.		Advocacy ► Julia Wyman, States United to Prevent Gun Violence comments on Violence Policy Center's new report, When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2013 Homicide Data. ► Andrea Brauer, Texas Gun Sense, op-ed, Austin American-Statesman, Nothing is safe about Cornyn's Mental Health and Safe Communities Act. ► Professor Jonanthan Metzl, Vanderbilt University, has been named director of research of The Safe Tennessee Project. ► Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence was one of the sponsors of the Lansing, MI United Nations Association of the USA Peace Day March. ►Coalition to Stop Gun Violence & 19 gun violence prevention groups are calling on the Department of Justice to cancel a $2.4 million grant to a gun lobby group that works against reforms that would prevent children from gaining unauthorized access to firearms. Sign the petition here. ► Georgians for Gun Safety comments on how national news shapes local perceptions of gun ownership. ► Pope Francis visited several cities in the U.S. last week. CeasefirePA raised a billboard in Philadelphia in time for the Pope's visit to the city. Women Against Gun Violence had a petition drive, urging the Pope to speak about the problem of gun violence during his visit. ► Iowans for Gun Safety joined with other area groups for a rally against gun violence at the University of Dubuque. ► Heeding God's Call joined an interfaith witness of religious and community leaders at an event titled "Standing Together for Peace." ► Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence and ART WORKS Projects present Voices of the Unforgotten. The series of sculptures will be on exhibit through October 1st.  ► Everytown for Gun Safety #NotAnAccident Index records at least 200 unintentional child shootings so far in 2015. Blogs Baldr Odinson, Ceasefire Oregon, Extreme Pro-Gun Sheriff Arrested for Violent Assault and Strangulation Armed With Reason, Debunking the "Criminals Don't Follow Laws" Myth 2.0: Why Gun Control Works Joan Peterson, ProtectMN, Common GunSense, Guns, Puppies and Other Stupid and Dangerous Stuff Cathie Whittenburg, States United to Prevent Gun Violence, Ohh Shoot, Bystander trying to shoot carjacker unintentionally shoots victim Worst of the Week Bald Knob, Arkansas Police Chief Erek Balentine is not in favor of open carry and has encouraged businesses to prohibit the practice.  In what he believes is an act of retaliation, someone spray painted "2nd Amendment" on the side of his personal truck and set the vehicle on fire. Balentine has announced he will resign from the police force in order to "better the safety" of his family. "If someone could stoop low enough to burn my truck then I don't want to take that chance to endanger my family."

The Epidemiology & Prevention of Gun Violence

CeasefireUSA: The GVP Report - September 15, 2015
In The News ► The international scholarly journal Preventive Medicine has published a Special Issue on the Epidemiology and Prevention of Gun Violence. Guest Editors Harvard Professor David Hemenway and Johns Hopkins Professor Daniel Webster have assembled an impressive group of contributors on the subject of firearms violence. Some of the articles include: Firearm Injuries in the US, Katherine Fowler et al, find that the majority of firearm deaths are suicides but that nonfatal firearms assaults have increased in recent years to a level not seen since 1995. The Epidemiology of Self-Defense Gun Use: Evidence from the National Crime Victimization Surveys, Hemenway & Solnick, find that self-defense gun use occurs in fewer than 1% of contact crimes and is not associated with a reduced risk of victim injury. Effects of Changes in Permit-to-Purchase (PTP)  Handgun Laws in Connecticut and Missouri on Suicide Rates, Cassandra Crifasi et al, find enactment of PTP laws in CT resulted in an estimated 15% reduction in firearm suicide rates and the repeal of the MO PTP law was associated with a 16% increase in firearm suicide rates. ► The Oath Keepers Are Ready for War with the Federal Government. In a corner of Oregon the Oath Keepers have mobilized and attracted dozens of heavily armed men and women from across the country to help ward off a possible incursion by the BLM at a small gold mine called the Sugar Pine. ► Life as a Gunshot Survivor: A Young Sociology Sheds New Light on a Hidden Cost of Firearms Violence. In an effort to put the problem of non-fatal gun violence on the map, Jooyoung Lee follows the lives of gunshot victims, documenting the myriad of physical and mental traumas they must cope with. ► September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Read the Brady Campaign's new report, The Truth About Suicide & Guns. We can all play a meaningful role in preventing future tragedies. ► An American Void.  He showed them his gun. He spoke of doing 'something crazy.' Why do the friends Dylann Roof stayed with before the Charleston church shooting shrug about their inaction? ► An American Summer.  At least 4,080 people killed by gunfire. More than 9,000 wounded. The real story of the season was not the shootings that drew the most headlines. ► Mass Shootings Since Sandy Hook, in One Map. Using data from Mass Shooting Tracker, Vox.com creates an interactive map of mass shooting in the United States. ► We Have A Voice.  A year after their father was unintentionally killed by a 9-year-old girl at an Arizona shooting range, the children of Charlie Vacca have started a petition to prevent kids from being able to shoot fully automatic weapons. Community Support ► Donna Dees, How To Organize the Mother of All Protests. On Mother's Day, 2000, more than 750,000 angry marchers convened on the National Mall to protest gun violence. Instead of another march, I would spend the money on securing DC's Verizon Center for a televised megamom-rally. ► Mike Weisser, Mike the Gun Guy, The Bad News for the NRA is There are Lots of People Who Believe 'Thou Shalt Not Kill.'  Recently I found myself in the company of people from all over the US who want to do something about gun violence.  I have been following the gun debate since the 1960s and I don't remember a time when so many different types of people from so many different backgrounds were so committed to serious and continuous efforts to stop gun violence. ► Heather Digby Parton, Salon, The right's deeply misleading new gun control meme: American should be more like .... Switzerland?  The difference between the American and Swiss gun culture is in the way we see guns and the relationship of the citizen to the government. And it has something to do with the fact that we ignore that first part of the 2nd Amendment and fetishize the second.  ► A.J. Somerset's new book, Arms: The Culture and Credo of the Gun, looks at how the gun culture that has become more radical, less tolerant, and more immovable in its beliefs. ► Rebecca Leber, New Republic, Australia Reduced Mass Violence by Confiscating Guns. In the US, Police Sell Guns Back to Citizens. Many states have laws that require local police to put the guns they collect each day back on the streets. ► Houston Chronicle Editorial, Targeting Guns: We tolerate too many gun deaths and need to push for well-regulated gun ownership. There will come a day when the NRA's chock-hold on craven politicians will end. We've seen it with other issues. Meanwhile, we can continue pushing "well-regulated" gun ownership, to borrow from the Constitution itself. ► Dorothy Paugh, Baltimore Sun op-ed, Guns Offer Too Easy A Way Out. My father and my son both committed suicide with a gun. What saddens me most is the enormity of lost potential, theirs, and that of over 20,000 other Americans, overwhelmingly white males, who reach for a gun in their moment of despair each year. ► David Harris, The Michigan Daily, A Column About Nothing. It doesn't take a senile Shakespearean king to tell us nothing will come of nothing, but instead of doing something - anything - we continue to move nowhere in solving the issue of gun violence. ► Jef Rouner, Houston Press, Gun Violence Should Get Its Own Trigger Warning. Movies and video games don't cause gun violence, but they do express it over and over and over again as the answer to your problems. I propose a literal trigger warning for film, tv and games. What you are about to see will show gun use in a violent manner. Viewer discretion is advised. What the Gun Lobby is Doing ► The British newspaper, The Telegraph, asked the 17 Republican candidates if they owned a gun.  Here is what they found. ► The NRA has begun instructing Indiana's National Guard members on how to use concealed weapons. Opponents argue it's inappropriate for a state to involve a political lobbying organization in training members of the military and question the use of a civilian organization. ► CBS Evening News allows John Lott to falsely connect gun laws to higher murder rates. Lott claimed murder rates have increased everywhere guns have been banned. Lott's claim is unsupported by the data.		Advocacy ► Arizonans for Gun Safety testified before Tucson City Council on a measure that asks local gun dealers to abide by a Code of Conduct designed by the Brady Campaign. The City Council approved the measure. ► New Yorkers Against Gun Violence applauds Albany's passage of a local ordinance requiring gun owners to lock up their weapons in a safe or use a trigger lock. ► Maine Moms Demand Action has submitted an application to bring a 2016 ballot measure that would require a background check on all gun sales. ► Everytown for Gun Safety Survivor Network, also know as the loneliest club, talks to CNN about the devastation of losing a loved one to gun violence and their determination to strengthen gun laws.  ► The Wisconsin Legislature should hold hearings on gun bills. Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort explains how bills to strengthen gun laws aren't even getting a hearing in the Legislature. ► The Local Globalist interviews Jennifer Fiore from the Campaign to Unload about efforts to hit irresponsible gunmakers where it hurts: their sources of funding. ► Protect Minnesota comments on Facebook's decision to deny advertising to a local shooting range promotion noting "there are legitimate concerns about how people are using Facebook in regards to firearms." ► What happens when a parent turns to activism in the wake of violence? Tom Mauser, Colorado Ceasefire, speaks with Colorado Matters about his work to strengthen gun laws since his son, Daniel, was gunned down at Columbine High School in 1999.  Blogs Baldr Odinson, Ceasefire Oregon, All Four Vengeful Recall Efforts by Pro-Gun Forces Fail in Oregon Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Bullet Counter Points, Who's Backing the Last Pro-Gun "Academic," John Lott? Joan Peterson, ProtectMN, A Deadly Week-End in Minnesota National Gun Victims Action Council, Armed Husbands Shoot Seven Women This Week, Five Die Cathie Whittenburg, Ohh Shoot, Man sitting on couch shot by bullet fired in apartment above It's That Easy Watch our video about safe gun storage. Get involved, sign our petition at http://bit.ly/1qeJVkj Worst of the Week Four friends were at a neighbor's house in East Baton Rouge, LA, to watch an LSU football game and sing karaoke. An argument over music turned into a physical fight. The four men left the house and about ten minutes later Rodney Chemin, 60, shot and killed three brothers, Joseph Allen, 57, Perry Allen, 55 and Mark Allen, 51. Chemin then shot and killed himself.