As a citizen of the US, a nation with a high murder rate compared to most of the rest of the Western world, the things I find most interesting about the murders highlighted on the show are the relations of the victims to their assailants. And as a believer in civilian ownership of firearms the other two questions that come to mind are: Would a gun ban have affected the murderer, and would carrying a firearm have helped the victim.?
Relationships of Murderer to Victim:
Over the years I've had many police officer friends and acquaintances, and all tell the same story: It's rare for a person NOT involved in criminal activity to be murdered by a stranger. And the vast majority of murder victims are involved in criminal activity, particularly drugs. The UCR supports that few murderers are strangers to their victims, particularly table 9 and the graph below:
The First 48 Hours reflects this. Most murder victims are involved in drugs, either as a user or dealer, or they have a roommate or lover who is a drug dealer -- but they know of that person's involvement. And though I can't find this statistic on the FBI UCR site, other studies show that more than half of murder victims are people previously convicted or at least arrested for criminal activity.
The show also reflects that many of the entirely innocent people murdered were participating in what we all know are legal but inherently dangerous activities, such as sexual hookups with people met over the internet.
When the show highlights the murder of an entirely innocent person who was going about his or her business it is both disturbing and startling . There is the owner of a business (happens to be a strip bar) who is stalked and gunned down in the bar while doing office work. There is the peacemaker who was calming down a man involved in a fistfight when the other party drives by shooting and hits him instead of the combatant. These stories are rare, but they surely happen, and when you see the people who have lost a family member through no fault of that person it is heartbreaking.
Of course, when you see the non-involved family members of BOTH the murderer and the victim, it is heartbreaking regardless of circumstance. Every murderer or murder victim is loved by somebody no matter what they are involved in, and in every solved crime there is one person dead and another person headed for prison who's potential for a successful life is virtually gone.
The effect of gun laws/gun control on murderers:
In all the episodes of this show I have watched, only 2 murders were done with "assault weapons." This also is reflected in the UCR, which shows that only a minuscule percentage of murders are committed with "assault weapons." And the 2 murders committed with assault type weapons were by people who intended to do murder well in advance and who would have brought a different gun/weapon if they couldn't get a particular type of rifle. And since the shootings were urban (at relatively close range) the rifle used was not particularly more lethal than the average pistol. So an "Assault Weapons Ban" (AWB) would not have helped or stopped any of them -- which has also been proven by the 10 year AWB we had from 1994 to 2004 that had no effect on the US murder rate.
Gun Control is a subject I have blogged on often, and The First 48 Hours episodes I have seen and UCR prove my basic points: It's what's in the heart of a person, not their hand, that makes them a murderer.
And because most murders ARE committed by criminals and drug dealers, they are people who care not one bit about the law and have money to obtain whatever they want. They will get weapons regardless of laws or bans in place, just as they get the drugs they need to use and sell in whatever quantities they can afford.
The above statements are simplistic. They are also true and proven in other countries that have tried to ban firearms. Gun laws only affect law abiding people, not criminals.
Would having a firearm have saved the victim?
This is a harder subject to approach. The person committing the murder almost always set the tone of the altercation, and the victim usually did not know they were going to be assaulted until it was underway. This puts the victim at a great disadvantage. In fact, the strip bar owner mentioned above actually DID have a gun on his person, but the assault was well planned out and he had no opportunity to use it.
However, several of the shootings highlighted WERE deemed to be self defense, which absolutely proves that having a firearm of your own is NOT useless, and in no case was a victim shot with his own gun. So ... having a gun would NEVER have been a negative, and in several cases it DID save a life.
How many more lives could have been saved if more of the victims had been armed? Well, there were many murders that evolved slowly, with the victim fleeing for a distance before the killing shots were fired. If the victim had been armed he could have at least turned the tables and had a fighting chance ... much more of a chance than a cell phone with 911 on speed dial -- because many murders were completed while the police were already called and on the way.
And many people were not immediately killed when shot, or it took multiple shots to finish them off. Would the victim have been able to draw a weapon at some point during the ongoing shooting and at least altered the attack, perhaps before the fatal shots were delivered? Or reduced the number of times he was shot? Again, it's impossible to know. There are certainly stories of people drawing and shooting back after being shot.
But one thing's for sure ... if I were attacked without warning I would rather be carrying a gun than not; with a gun I have an option for fighting back besides the fists I haven't used in anger since high school, and without a firearm I have none.
Some Real Common Sense:
For me, the lessons of this show AND my many hours of studying the FBI UCR site are clear:
1. Avoid involvement with felons and drugs and people who are so involved.
2. if you identify a dangerous person in your life find a way to disengage if possible, and get the police involved as early as you can.
3. Keep your head about you when deciding who to have a rendezvous with -- could be a great story to tell your friends, or a tragic story your friends tell.
4. When handling money or in dangerous places, keep your wits about you.
And while the above are the statistically most important points, I would continue with this:
5. If you are certain that you're capable of using it, and it is legal in your state (as it is in 40 states) carry a firearm on your person whenever you can. It's highly unlikely you'll need it, but if you find yourself in one of the "unthinkable" situations seen on The First 48 Hours you'll damned sure not regret it.
6. Firearm ownership is not the cause of the ridiculous levels of murder in our society any more than legal concealed carry of firearms is a panacea to end it (though the latter has been proven to save lives in some circumstances).
7. Gun bans or gun control will have little effect on criminals (just like drug bans).
8. Gun bans and gun control would have a great NEGATIVE effect on law abiding people, given how many people per year use a firearm in their personal defense and how many more COULD use a weapon for their personal defense if they chose to be armed.
The above doesn't directly discuss domestic violence, which actually accounts for a low percentage of murders overall. As can be seen from table 9 of the UCR, less than 5% of murder victims are either a husband or wife of the murderer. But the same rules hold true, and if I had a daughter with an abusive husband I'd both get her the hell out of there AND make sure she had a gun available if the SOB shows up to do further violence. Sphere: Related Content
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