The Main Sociological Factors of Gun Violence
Gun Availability
- There is a correlation between availability of guns and the rate of gun violence (Ludwig; Cook; Secretariat)
- In Europe in the past 20 years violent crime has gone up but gun violence has declined (Aebi). Due to lack of availability of firearms in Europe and greater levels of economic equality (Garland)
Economic Disparity
- "The effect of the growing gap between the rich and poor is mediated through an undermining of social cohesion, or social capital, and that decreased social capital is in turn associated with increased firearm homicide and violent crime" (Kennedy, "Social capital")
- "Strong link between crime and economic development" (UNODC)
- "The spread of violence and crime is influenced by the economy" (Briceno-Leon)
"GDP decrease of the first half of the 1990s coincided with a surge in homicide levels, while the slow improvement in economic conditions was mirrored by a steady decrease in intentional killings" (UNODC)
Mental Health
- From the WHO World Report on Violence and Health (2002): "Poor mental health, chronic environmental and social stressors, racial and income inequalities, gender inequalities, high rates of unemployment, and a lack of educational and employment opportunities are all associated with higher rates of firearm violence" (Skogan; NRC)
Sociological Approaches to Reducing Gun Violence: Analysis
The Conundrum of Self-Defense
As shown in the section above, the proposal that increased availability of guns increases the rate of gun violence has reached consensus. It has also been shown that the availability of guns in high-violence areas increases the rate of gun violence (Kennedy, "Youth Violence in Boston"). It is easy to conclude from this that buying guns for self-defense does NOT reduce gun violence.
If you live in a high-crime area and feel threatened enough that you are compelled to buy a gun, you are actually CONTRIBUTING to the problem!
If you live in a high-crime area and feel threatened enough that you are compelled to buy a gun, you are actually CONTRIBUTING to the problem!
Community Intervention
In Boston and Chicago a community intervention program has been set up. "Interrupters" are members of their community who have been recruited to independently encourage non-violence among community members by breaking up fights as soon as they start before they can escalate into gun violence. In Boston the homicides dropped 86% as a result of the program (Braga), and in Chicago the homicides dropped 57% (Skogan). Because of the huge success of these programs, it is necessary to implement them in all cities across the United States. They have a low cost, do not require supervision, and are easy to implement.