News analysis
News analysis of a CNN article detailing a shooting at a Veteran’s home in California.
| Date Published | Updated 2:51 PM ET, Sun March 11, 2018 | Sat March 10, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| URL | https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/10/us/california-veterans-home-shooting/index.html | http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/10/california-veterans-home-shooter-was-army-infantryman-and-decorated-rifleman.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Story Summary | CNN offers insight to the motive for a man who had taken hostages at a veteran’s home in California. The article uses descriptions from law enforcement and witnesses to illustrate what happened as well as telling the reader who the victims were. An official suggests arming staff at veteran’s homes. It is learned that the gunman was a former patient at the facilty and was kicked out for an uknown reason. | Fox News details the gunman’s military occupational specialty and his service medals. Which are pretty normal for an infantryman who has been deployed to Afghanistan. He was given an honorable discharge. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| What is emphasized? | CNN places emphasis on the work that the veteran’s center did, helping vets re-integrate into society and gives a possible motive for the shooter. | Fox places emphasis on the gunman’s military service and confirms that he was a client at the center, but does not speculate on a motive | ||||||||||||||||||||
| What is the implication of the story? | More attention should be paid to medical veteran’s services as well as having armed security on hand at veteran facilities | Fox attempts to humanize the gunman and paints him more as a troubled veteran with a decorated past rather than a crazed gunman. It seems there is a focus on veteran’s mental health here as well. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| What is missing from the story? | The gunman’s motive. A statement from the center’s director. Why was the gunman seperated from the program? How was the gunman able to walk back into the center? | Descriptions of the victims. If you were going to go into detail on his military service, at least acknowledge that his awards were pretty typical for your everyday infantryman. Wouldnt you try to contact someone who was in his old unit to get a better overall picture of his personality? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Research Proposal
Do Gun Control Laws Keep Communities Safer?
The purpose of this study is to look at gun control laws from an unbiased perspective, analyze credible data, and draw a conclusion about the effectiveness of gun control.
As a US citizen during a time when mass shootings are almost the norm, we feel that it is important to explore every aspect when it comes to protecting our community. We will explore the use of defensive arms (legal concealed carry/open carry) the effectiveness of lawful signage regarding where a person can or can’t carry, rates of mass shootings perpetrated with the AR15 platform vs. Other weapons, and the differences in gun laws from state to state.
This topic is relevant not only because of the recent events in Florida, but also to judge if legislation that has passed is effective. Are laws passed that will make communities safer? Or does some legislation exist just to appease gun lobbyists and voter bases. Studies like this are important because it is important that communities are safe while law abiding citizens are not having rights stripped.
We plan to review peer journals, news articles, the CDC report about defensive gun use, other government documents and state legislation regarding weapons. It is important that we stay away from things like the NRA newsletter or other obviously biased sources as it is important to stay objective in this at all costs.
Literature Review
Thomas Moore
18/SP-MCO-1302-20 Mass Media & Society
Literature Review Do tough gun laws effectively prevent crime?
Final Project Group 3
3/20/2018
1. http://www.sfu.ca/~mauser/papers/StatsCan/BN58-Final.pdf
a. Do Triggers Pull Fingers? A Look at Criminal Misuse of Guns in Canada. Dr. Gary Mauser
b. The purpose of this research is to obtain hard data regarding the use of guns in a lawful and unlawful ways in Canada. This information is crucial to our project in that while Canada’s laws are different from the US, this paper outlines the type of research needed to pass legislation that keeps communities safe, while not taking one’s rights and safety away.
c. Content Analysis.
d. Data was collected regarding examples of self-defense using weapons and crimes using weapons.
e. The numbers show that most gun crimes are committed by gang members while very few gun crimes are committed by lawful gun owners. Including those who held restricted firearms licenses (semi-automatic rifles and handguns).
f. In Canada, most gun crimes are committed by criminals who have no regard for law and order, therefore, enacting legislation to tighten gun control only effects those who are law abiding, AKA the gun owning law abiding public.
g. This article is useful for our research because it has the plain language and stats that are needed to have a logical discussion regarding firearms. While it is not the US, the research in this study serves as a good indicator of what pro 2A groups in the US have been saying all along. Gun control only effects law abiding citizens.
2.
a. WOLF, C. R., & ROSEN, J. A. (2015). MISSING THE MARK: GUN CONTROL IS NOT THE CURE FOR WHAT AILS THE U.S. MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM. Journal Of Criminal Law & Criminology, 104(4), 851-878.
b. This Article examines the ways in which recent gun control laws in the United States do or do not address relevant mental health issues. These policies contribute to the thought that all mentally ill people are dangerous. This article goes on to explore that mass shootings could have been prevented if the perpetrator had received timely and proper mental health treatment. The article goes on to outline several examples of how mental health funding has been cut and explains further why gun control is misguided when the real issue is access to mental health. The article cites examples of gun control laws such as the NY SAFE act that was passed to block sales of weapons to the criminally insane. This law was passed and effects all mental health professionals in the state of NY but was crafted without input from them. The same type of law was passed in Illinois, which outlaws the sale of weapons to those with mental illness, but at the same time, does nothing to address the lack of mental healthcare available to those that would be affected by the law. Whereby, these persons are still not getting the access to care they need. The article also highlights the lack of confidentiality of the NY SAFE act. Where medical professionals are required by law to report mentally ill patients to law enforcement in their respective counties.
c. Content Analysis.
d. Data was collected using examinations of laws on the books, public records regarding mental health statistics and analysis of current mental health trends in the US.
e. There is not really a result with this scholarly journal. It simply outlines how futile “knee jerk” legislation can be regarding weapons and how the laws don’t address the real problem of social stigma/lack of access to mental health in our communities.
f. Overall, this article supports our argument that gun control legislation not only takes guns away from law abiding citizens, but it also fails to address the lack of mental healthcare. It also serves to demonize those in our community who are more at risk for violence, when statistically, mentally ill people are less likely to be violent.
g. This article is useful because it shows the danger of government overreach with hasty legislation that does nothing to protect communities.
3.
a. Crepelle, A. (2017). CONCEALED CARRY TO REDUCE SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST AMERICAN INDIAN WOMEN. Kansas Journal Of Law & Public Policy, 26(2), 236-261.
b. The purpose of the research of this article is to show the effect of concealed carry as a crime deterrent using Native American women as the subject of the research. 39% of Native American women are victims of domestic violence. The number may be much higher since most crimes against natives go unreported. Another reason native women may be victimized at a higher rate are due to the inconsistent law jurisdictions of the native lands. An inadequate police force combined with poverty and drug and alcohol use puts these women at higher risk than most other Americans. If there were a program to put concealed carry weapons in the hands of women who wanted to participate, the same programs could be possibly made available to any women who wanted the means to lawfully exercise their 2A rights. With this same mindset, those who lived in poor urban areas could have the means to defend themselves as well.
c. Content analysis
d. Data collection regarding crime statistics on reservations and the rates at which native women are assaulted.
e. While there will always be inherent risk involved with bringing firearms into a community, the example of concealed carry by native American women can be used with all groups that are currently at risk including those who live in rural areas or those who live in impoverished urban areas
f. Concealed carry gives at risk women an equalizer in a deadly situation; however, it does not address the problem of unemployment or poverty rate. Both of which contribute greatly to the violence sustained by native women and plague the community as a whole.
g. The article is useful as an argument for concealed carry as it supports the thought that ultimately, the burden of safety is on one’s self rather than the government.
4. a. Larsen, D. A., Lane, S., Jennings-Bey, T., Haygood-El, A., Brundage, K., & Rubinstein, R. A. (2017). Spatio-temporal patterns of gun violence in Syracuse, New York 2009-2015. Plos One, 12(3), e0173001. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0173001
b. The purpose of this research is to study another variable in the gun violence debate. Poverty. This article takes information from the city of Syracuse NY, one of the most violent cities in the US. NY is home to some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. However, those gun laws do nothing to address the aspect of poverty which contributes greatly to violent crime regardless of state laws. This is another example of how legislation has failed a community and done nothing to protect those who live there.
c. Content analysis
d. Data was collected from homicide and gun violence rates in the city of Syracuse from 2009-2015. The authors considered summer, segregation and poverty in different parts of the city showing that some other areas were more affected by gun violence than others. The authors also considered gun shots without homicides, gunshots with injuries and what was the peak time for gunshots during the day/night.
e. The study found that gun violence is a public health epidemic that has negative effects on those living in the community even if they are not specifically victims of the gunshots. This research was used by Syracuse PD to solve to problem of gun crime in the city. However, if the problem of poverty is not addressed, the pattern of gun crime in Syracuse will not change.
f. Gun control does not solve the problem of poverty in poor urban communities.
g. The article is useful for my research in that it proves that New York’s “tough on gun crime” laws have done nothing to deter criminals from discharging weapons in the streets. How can members of the community rely on city government to protect them if the state can’t even address problems such as poverty and mental health?
Data Collection
Thomas T. Moore and Marquise Melton
Media and Society
1.
- Mauser’s (2015) study on criminal use of handguns in Canada shows that restriction of the civilian ownership of firearms does little to effect gun homicides. We used this study due to Canada’s stricter gun laws for citizens as it is harder to obtain a firearm in Canada vs. the US. Canada also uses a national firearm registry which is something that gun control supporters in the US are calling for. Mauser’s study shows empirical evidence citing the difference between law abiding citizens and criminals who commit gun crime. According to his study, restricting gun ownership for regular citizens does nothing to stop gun crime.
- Wolf and Rosen (2015) found that gun control for the mentally ill does little to help the mental health problem in the US. Wolf and Rosen go on to explain that gun control laws in this regard are misguided and do little to address the real problem regarding mental illness. This study suggests that lawmakers should concentrate on funding already existing resources and establishing support systems for those at risk. For Wolf and Rosen, early intervention is what can make the real difference. Gun control without addressing the bigger picture of the lack of mental health resources in the US cannot be expected to solve this problem.
- Larsen et al, (2017) suggests that gun crime is concentrated disproportionately around poor urban areas. The 2017 study shows gun crime in the city of Syracuse NY from 2009-2015. The study showed that segregation, poverty and the heat of the summer all greatly increase the risk for gun crime. This is all in NY state as well, home of the NY SAFE act and other strict gun laws. We chose this study because it shows that poverty also plays a big role in gun crime. You can have the strictest gun laws in the nation, but without addressing poverty levels, you cannot stop gun crime in urban areas.
- Crepelle’s (2017) study shows that arming at risk Native American women with concealed carry weapons can help those women avoid sexual assault and domestic violence within their communities. The study cites the rates at which Native women are assaulted in comparison with rates outside of the reservation community. Crepelle suggests that these high rates are due to lack of law enforcement resources in Native communities and the remoteness of those locations. We chose this study because it illustrates the need for concealed carry by law abiding citizens in rural communities where law enforcement resources are not readily available.
2.
- We chose to use content analysis for these four studies because they encompass one comprehensive argument against gun control with empirical evidence. Whether you are pro-gun or anti-gun all Americans can agree that tragedies like Newtown, Aroura, Stoneman Douglas and more do not need to happen. The one thing we cannot agree on is how to change that. Our project is centered around the idea that if you do not change the fundamental issues of lack of mental health resources, or the cycle of poverty in urban America it will be impossible to enact real legislation that can keep innocent people safe. Law abiding gun owners are not the ones who should be punished. Criminals who are bent on harming others will not have any regard for gun control laws to begin with. Addressing poverty will curb gang violence. Addressing mental illness will curb mass shootings.
3.
- For this study, framing theory is the theory that we have chosen to use. We want to frame the argument against gun control with facts. The national dialogue right now will tell you that guns are bad, and no one needs them, we know that not everyone chooses to use their 2nd amendment rights. However, we believe that people need to know the facts regarding gun violence and gun control and the other factors involved with that before we allow lawmakers to enact emotional response legislation that only takes away rights from our citizens and does nothing to make our communities safe.
Lifestyle Effects
Final Project
Thomas T. Moore 