Blackmoor Vituperative

I thought that the contrast here was interesting. According to the FBI, murders in the USA declined by 10 percent overall during the first half of 2009, while the spike in handgun sales was making national news.

The FBI released data Monday that shows murders dropped by 10 percent from the same period in 2008. Meanwhile, according to data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows that during the first six months of this year, gun sales were up. January 2009 background checks rose 28.8 percent over the same month in 2008, February’s NICS checks were up 23.3 percent and in March they were up 29.9 percent over March 2008. The trend continued in April, with NICS checks up 30.3 percent, while May showed a slowdown, up only 15.5 percent, and in June they were up 18.1 percent.

(from Murder Down, Gun Sales Up)

Meanwhile, in the U.K., where law-abiding citizens are disarmed, crimes involving handguns have increased 89% in the past ten years.

Gun crime has almost doubled since Labour came to power as a culture of extreme gang violence has taken hold.

The latest Government figures show that the total number of firearm offences in England and Wales has increased from 5,209 in 1998/99 to 9,865 last year – a rise of 89 per cent.

In some parts of the country, the number of offences has increased more than five-fold.

(from Culture of violence: Gun crime goes up by 89% in a decade)

I am sure it is not just about guns. Nothing is ever so simple. But it is difficult not to see a connection here.