ESL 5301-002 Gun control
Data Commentary I
1. Graphic Summary
According to the graphic of Annual mass shooting casualties, from 1982 to 2012, the numbers of mass shooting casualties increased gradually. From 1982 to 1991, the total number of fatalities is around 120. In 1991, the number of victims is the highest; the total number of fatalities is around 35, and the number of injured is around 63. From 1992 to 2002, the total number of fatalities is around 130. In 1999, the number of victims is the highest; the total number of fatalities is around 43, and the number of injured is around 90. From 2003 to 2012, the total number of fatalities is around 265. In 2012, the number of victims is the highest; the total number of fatalities is around 79, and the number of injured is around 145. Since 2003, the total number of casualties has increased dramatically. (Xiaomiao)
Reference
Annual mass shooting casualties. (2012, December 28). Mother Jones. Retrieved on September 15, 2015 from
http://www.motherjones.com/special-reports/2012/12/guns-in-america-mass-shootings
2. Data Commentary #1
According to the statistical data provided by Mother Jones, the mass shooting casualties, including injuries and fatalities, in most of the years since 1982 are below 20 per year (Mass shootings in the US are on the rise, 2012). In the years with mass shooting casualties above 40, the number of casualties tended to increase over the years. In the 80s and early 90s, there were no years with casualties more than 70. However, in 1999, the year with the Columbine High School Massacre, the annual casualties reached around 90, and years with casualties more than 70 frequently occurred thereafter. In 2007, the year the Virginia Tech Shooting occurred, the casualties went above 80, and, the casualty number was more than 140 in 2012, the year the Sandy Hook Shooting and Aurora Theater Shooting occurred. The mass shooting in the United States is becoming more and more frequent and the casualties tend to increase over years. This may indicate that it is necessary to control weapons in order to reduce the likelihood of mass shooting events. (Ruizhi)
Reference
Mass shootings in the US are on the rise. (2012) Mother Jones. Retrieved on September 16, 2015 from http://www.motherjones.com/special-reports/2012/12/guns-in-america-mass-shootings
3. Data Commentary
According to the article "Ipsos/Reuters Poll: Gun Rights & Regulations”, a survey has been done by the Ipsos organization which originally was requested by Thomson Reuters Corporation to see what American people think of gun rights. As described in the article, different groups of respondents were asked including people form both political parties (Democrats and Republicans) and different races. In one case, respondents were asked whether they thought having legal firearms would keep them safer in public places. The results are reported in a circle graph which contains five sections; in which each section is corresponding to either strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, strongly oppose and unsure with use of different colors. In the graph, it can be seen that the section of people being unsure has the smallest distribution with six percent. Being strongly opposed and somewhat opposed has the second and third lowest distributions respectively. Consequently, sections regarding somewhat oppose and strongly oppose have largest distributions. As a whole, a total of sixty-seven percent of respondents supported using firearms in public for their protection followed by twenty-seven percent of opposition.
As it can be observed from the results, the majority of Americans believe that owing a gun can help them protect themselves rather than cause problems. However, in my opinion, they should also be educated about the consequences which the police and governments would face. For example, a simple street fight or even a misunderstanding could result in a mass shooting or chaos in which the police will not even be able to recognize whose fault it was. Only with bringing up various possible problems and informing people about them, we might get responses closer to reality. Moreover, it should be noted that on campus, the responses would probably be different, since people might find that it is already safer than any other public place and think guns would make it more dangerous than before. (Sina)
Ipsos/Reuters Poll: Gun Rights & Regulations. (2012, April 13). Ipsos. Retrieved on September 15, 2015 from http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5586
4. Data Commentary
In the article, “Reuters poll: most Americans support right to use deadly force in self defense”, by Blannelberry, Graph 4 shows survey results done by Reuters and Ipsos to investigate Americans’ idea on necessity of background check before selling guns to customers. The graph demonstrates that ninety-one percent of people who either support using guns or oppose it, found it essential to search the previous records of purchasers. The majority of participants, which is the darker green portion of the graph, strongly support this idea, or they choose the somewhat support option illustrated by the lighter green on the graph. Six percent of people voted against the background check and among them, only a small portion (darker orange in the graph) strongly opposed this idea, and finally three percent of participants in the survey were unsure about it (blue portion of the graph). I believe the logic which can describe this result is that checking the buyers’ history will reduce the chance of arming criminals and people with mental disorders who are not stable enough to be trusted with weapons. This might be the reason which caused people to vote in favor of background check before selling the weapons. Although background check can give us general information on buyers’ written history, it will not guarantee hundred percent safety. Many psychological criteria such as short temper may lead to loss of control in various situations. In the case of campus carry, critical psychological characteristics of young students should be considered in the investigation in addition to their criminal record check. (Soraya)
Blannelberry, S.H. (April 19, 2012). Reuters poll: most Americans support right to use deadly force in self defense. Guns.com. Retrieved on September 16, 2015 from http://www.guns.com/2012/04/19/reuters-poll-americans-support-deadly-force/
5. Data Commentary 1
A poll conducted by Thomson Reuters (2012) showed citizens’ attitudes about gun rights and regulations. Four graphs reveal proportions of whether citizens support or oppose the gun laws. In the graphs, they imply that most citizens want to limit weapons and support the idea that law-abiding citizens can get access to guns. However, when it comes to using guns to protect themselves, more than half of citizens consider it is necessary. Although they oppose mass sale of weapons outside of using them to protect themselves, what they mean is that such deadly weapons should be sold to good people and people should properly use them at the time they really need to do so. (Kai)
Reference:
Reuters, T. (2012, April 13). Reuters/Ipsos poll: gun right & regulations. Retrieved on September 15, 2015. http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5586
6. Data Commentary
According to the third graph, 74% of people in the survey support the idea that the law should limit the sale of automatic weapons. In contrast, the percentage of people who are against this statement is 22%. Meanwhile, there are 4% of participants in this survey who are not sure about their attitudes on this argument. The data come from an online survey conducted by Ipsos poll among 1,922 Americans. From this data, we can have a clear idea that the majority of citizens would like to see fewer guns and think the law has significance on the issue of gun control. In addition, it reflects the idea that the more sales of automatic weapons there are, the greater the chances of gun shooting in public. (Lu )
Reference
Ipsos poll. (April 13, 2012). Ipsos/Reuters Poll: Gun Rights & Regulations. Retrieved on September 15, 2015 from
http://ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5586
7. Data Commentary #1
According to Thomson Reuters in the Ipsos poll that he conducted about gun rights and regulations and published in Ipsos, one of the graphs is about lowering the limit on the sale of automatic weapons. The total who support it is 74% and the total of people who do not support it is 22%. The rest of them, which are 6%, are somewhat opposed. Therefore, most people would be against the carry campus law because it will lead to the campus being an unsafe place. Also, the carry campus law will increase the number of homicides. (Ebtehal)
Reference
Ipsos/Reuters Poll: Gun Rights & Regulations. (April 13, 2012). Retrieved on September 15, 2015 from http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5586
8. Gun Rights & Regulations
This is a pie chart that described the opinions of citizens regarding the use of deadly force to protect themselves in a public space.
There are 34% of people who strongly support using guns for self-defense. Moreover, there are 33% of citizens who support the use of guns sometimes. However, 17 % of citizens are somewhat against the use of guns. On the other hand, a small percentage (5%) are strongly opposed to the use of guns in a public space, even if it is for our own safety. 5% of citizens are unsure about the use of deadly force.
From this graph, we conclude that 67 % of citizens are in total support of having their own gun and using it for self-defense. On the other hand, 27% of citizens are totally opposed to that. Even if guns are dangerous to carry most of the time, the law allows them to be used in some situations to protect ourselves. (Samah)
References:
Reuters/Lpsos poll: gun rights & regulations. (April 13, 2012). Retrieved: Sept 15, 2015 from http://static.reuters.com/resources/media/global/editorial/interactives/ipsos-poll-gun-control/ipsos-poll-gun-control.html
9. Data Commentary
According to the chart located in the article “The NRA myth of arming the good guys” by Mark Follman, in a 30-year time period between 1982 and 2012, there has been a mass shooting incident almost every year. According to this chart, only in 1983, 1985 and 2002 has there been no mass shooting incidents. This graph also shows that the number of fatalities and casualties in each year varies from around 5 up to more than 140. The years with higher numbers of total fatalities and injuries happen to be those in which some of the most infamous mass shooting incidents happened (for example Columbine High School in ’99, Virginia Tech University in ’07, Sandy Hook Elementary school in ’12 and Aurora Theater in ’12).
This chart shows that mass shooting incidents cannot be viewed as isolated cases because they happen frequently enough. Therefore, when it comes to campus carry law, people might be afraid for their safety because of the frequency of occurrence of mass shooting incidents. (Pouria)
Reference
Follman, M. (2012, Dec. 28). The NRA myth of arming the good guys. Mother Jones. Retrieved on September 15, 2015 from
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/nra-mass-shootings-myth
No comments:
Post a Comment