This isn’t a surprising statistic, but it’s worth remembering.
- Gun homicides occurred in 15 of the state’s 72 counties and were concentrated in urban areas. The city of Milwaukee, with just over 10 percent of the state’s population, had two-thirds of its gun homicides, at 76. Beloit had the second-highest total, with six, followed by Racine, with four.
I’m willing to bet that per capita gun ownership is higher in rural counties than in urban ones. Gun crime isn’t about the guns. It’s about the culture. And those who focus on the guns are just making it that much more difficult to address the real sources of crime.
I kind of agree. If we’re not going to control gun ownership as tightly as, say, the UK or Japan (and let’s face it that’s never going to happen), then all debates on gun rights is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It might be nice to have background checks on all gun sales, but if you really want to have an impact on gun violence I’d probably look at things like ending the drug war, raising the minimum wage, etc. Finger wagging about “culture” wouldn’t be high on my list, though.