Gun victims

If the result in the Cincinnati case proves to be more typical, however, defendants may increasingly be unable to stop such suits in their tracks by getting a ruling that a municipality has no standing to sue in gun liability cases. Juries tend to be more favorable toward claims by gun victims than... 

January The U.S. Conference of Mayors meets in Washington, D.C. They display a blackboard listing nearly 3,100 fatal gun victims since the Columbine shootings and call for Congress to pass the legislation on gun sales and shows that had stalled the previous year. 

Written for junior high school smdents, this comprehensive reference is useful for all readers. The four volumes explore the Second Amendment and the debate over its interpretation, the practices of the firearms industry and the movement for safer guns, children as gun users and gun victims, and the development of gun legislation and expressions of public opinion. 

Dees-Thomases, Donna, and Alison Hendrie. Looking For a Few Good-Moms How One Mother Rallied a Million Others Against the Gun Lobby. Revised ed. Emmaus, Pa. Rodale Press, 2004. Recounts how a shooting tragedy at a day-care center impelled Dees-Thomases and others to organize the Million Mom March for gun control. There are also many vivid accounts of the experiences of gun victims. The book also includes much information and suggestions for activists for gun control and other issues. 

The graph Percent of Homicides Involving Guns by Age of Victim, 1976-2000 looks at the proportion of homicide victims of each age who were killed using a firearm. The peak appears to be with victims in their late teens, about three-quarters of whom were gun victims. This is followed by a steady decline as victim age increases. One intuitive reason for this peak is that young men in their late teens are more likely than older men to be involved in violent armed gangs and, in turn, to become victims of gun violence themselves. 

Violence has also expanded into the public schools to a degree never before observed. Metropolitan areas are seeing almost daily reports of students bringing knives and guns into the schools. In fact, a recent survey showed that 11% of teachers and 23% of students nationwide have been victims of violence in school.219 In addition to the suffering and loss of life, the monetary cost to society of every murder is calculated at 2.4 million.220... 

Crime scenes are often divided into zones, and the location of items of evidence within particular zones meticulously recorded. Indeed location may sometimes be of crucial evidential significance, e.g. the gun was found clutched in the alleged suicide victim s hand . However, precise location may actually be of Htde significance at a bombing scene, other than the fact that the item was actually at the scene. So many unknown and unknowable factors are involved in the production and projection of fragments from an explosion that recording the precise location of every one of thousands of items may simply be a recipe for confusion and eventually failure to identify the most significant points. 

A number of studies have found that having a handgun in the home increases the risk of a family member becoming a homicide or suicide victim. Is this presence of a gun a cause of or a response to crime or social pathology ... 

Will requiring trigger locks and other safety devices on guns save lives Or might it give people a false sense of security or cause more people to be victimized by crime because they can t get to their gun in time ... 

Several lawsuits were filed on behalf of the victims against Colt Industries (manufacturer of the gun) and Olin Corporation (maker of the ammunition), and other gun manufacturers. Colt and Olin filed to have the suit dismissed for lack of a valid cause of action, and the district court agreed. The plaintiffs appealed. 

Glaeser, Edwin L., and Spencer Glendon. Who Owns Guns Criminals, Victims, and the Culmre of Violence. American Economic Review, vol. 88, May 1998, pp. 458ff. Analyzes the distribution of gun ownership and suggests that guns are concentrated in groups whose values and experiences... 

Waters, Robert A. The Best Defense True Stories of Intended Victims Who Defended Themselves -with a Firearm. Nashville, Tenn. Cumberland House, 1998. A collection of vivid accounts of ordinary people who used guns to defend themselves against attackers. Waters explores both their thoughts and feelings and the response of police and society in general the book leans to strong gun rights advocacy. 

Headden, Susan. Guns, Money and Medicine The Proliferation of Powerful New Weapons Has Sent the Cost of Crime Spiraling. Here s Why You Pay. U.S. News World Report, vol. 121, July 1, 1996, pp. 30ff. Analyzes the health costs caused by gun crime, using a variety of example cases. The costs are increasing due to the proliferation of more powerful weapons. All consumers end up paying more for these health costs because tax money must be used to care for the majority of victims, who are uninsured. 

LaRosa, Benedict D. Can Gun Control Reduce Crime Fumre of Freedom Foundation. Available online. Part 1, URL http //www.fff.org/ffeedom/ fd0210e.asp. Posted in October 2002. Part 2, URL http //www.fff. org/fireedom/fd0211f.asp. Posted in November 2002. Argues that gun control advocates have wrongly taken credit for the overall decrease in crime since the mid-1990s, which had little to do with the Brady Law and other gun control measures. Guns deter crime, and a variety of examples from around the world are cited to show that gun control has led to crime, victimization, and even genocide. 

Chiang, Harriet, and Kevin Fagan. Gunmakers Can Be Sued by Victims. San Francisco Chronicle, September 30, 1999, p. Al, A19. Reports that a California state court of appeals has, for the first time in U.S. legal history, ruled that a gun maker can be held liable for the criminal use of its products. The case arose ftom a 1993 mass shooting in a San Francisco office building. 

An organization that seeks to bring law enforcement officers and citizens together to fight crime. The organization seeks stricter penalties for criminals and promotes victim s rights it opposes gun control as not being effective crime control. 

The following graphs and charts provide background on gun-related crime, types of firearms deaths, and young people as firearms victims. There is also information about gun ownership and public support for various gun control or safety measures. 

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