Essay on Gun Violence Prevention - Suggestions Appreciated

[DROCK]

The outline below is one of four 10-page papers I have to write for my degree in Health Education. I was hoping you guys could help me with the brainstorming process and recommend where to look online for credible sources of information?

You are a health educator in a community health organization. The head of your organization has asked you to prepare a brief report that justifies allocation of funds to your department in order to address gun violence in your local community. You must convince those reading the report that addressing this problem should take priority over other health problems at this time. In your report, include the following information:

1. The nature of the problem
2. The scope and extent of the problem on the national level as well as within your community
3. The population/s most "at-risk" for this problem
4. The causes of the problem
5. Why this problem is more urgent than other health problems in your community
6. Discuss one health education initiative strategy at the national level and on at the local level to address this problem and comment on their effectiveness so far.


I was thinking of basing the health organization in an inner city, such as the Bronx. I'm thinking the more location-specific I can get the statistics the better. What I'm stuck on is #4: the causes of the problem. I think it depends on who you ask...What do you guys think?

 

[Certaindeaf]

The Revolutionary War could have been prevented.. but then we'd be slaves. You could start there.

 

[Solo]

Cause of the problem? According to the UNDOC global report on homicide,

At one extreme, where homicide rates are high and firearms and organized crime in the form of drug trafficking play a substantial role, 1 in 50 men aged 20 will be murdered before they reach the age of 31. At the other, the probability of such an occurrence is up to 400 times lower.
There are many reasons for this but one of the links most clearly identified in this study is that homicide is much more common in countries with low levels of human development, high levels of income inequality and weak rule of law than in more equitable societies, where socio-economic stability seems to be something of an antidote to homicide.

 

[bigfatdave]

in order to address gun violence

Wrong.
Seperating out "gun violence" from "violence" dooms any plan to failure.

 

[DROCK]

Thanks for the link Solo, I'm looking through it now.

 

[happygeek]

Separating out "gun violence" from "violence" dooms any plan to failure.

I've never understood this fixation on "gun violence" either. In 2011 5 times as many people got stabbed to death as were murdered with a rifle of any type (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/uc....-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-11) ... but I guess no one cares about those 1,694 people since they weren't victims of "gun violence"?

Or maybe it's because if they called it "gang violence" it'd lead people dangerously close to the conclusion that a government ban on a certain substance is causing most of it?

 

[beatledog7]

The concept of parsing gun violence from general violence was birthed by anti-gun folks who wish for the people to view guns as some sort of special kind of implement with which to commit a violent act, ultimately to assert that violence would be much less of an issue if there were no guns.

My question would be on the going in premise that violence is a health issue. I would say it's a culture issue.

 

[Solo]

Thanks for the link Solo, I'm looking through it now.

Careful with that information, now. It might lead one on a path towards liberalism.

 

[toejamm]

False Premise: "So Mr. Smith, when did you stop beating your wife?"

You conceed the arguement when you accept the terminology of "Gun Violence." Guns are not violent, people are. Knives, bats and hammers are not violent, the users of the tools are.

Unless you are writing this for a gun grabbing leftie and really, REALLY need the grade I would answer your qustions as follows, and after you are done reading them, have a look at Adam Carolla's short video on the subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T44PC7wOXfI


1) Nature of the problem is "Cultural Decay in the inner city."
2) The extent of the problem is vast, especially in the inner city. (DOJ stats)
3) At-Risk are anyone who lives in any inner-city in any city in the USA (See DOJ status)
4) Lack of a two parent family, enhanced by social welfare.
5) It is not a health problem (Unless you have been shot). It is a moral and cultural problem which manifests itself into violent behavior by mostly young men.
6) Employment. Get the tax rates lower so business owners want to do business in the cities, hire young ethnic men, and lower their real unemployment rate from 18% to 5%.

In today's college environment, you might have a struggle on your hands.
Good luck.

 

[OptimusPrime]

I think Toejamm's list is a great starting point. Another thought would be to NOT use the Bronx as a location; don't use somewhere that already has a handgun ban because that's just going to be a skewed analysis from go.
Pick a large enough city in a gun-strong region of the country and make sure that city includes a "good part" and a "bad part". I bet you could find some correlations between how little crime occurs in the nice part of town (even though gun ownership % is high) and how much crime occurs in the bad part (even though gun ownership is high).
Toejamm is right; use funding to help employment not to foster and perpetuate unemployment.

 

[HEAVY METAL 1]

This report is doomed to be skewed and biased based on the tenets of its premise, to wit: "You must convince those reading the report that addressing this problem should take priority over other health problems at this time..."

Why not investigate IF this is a problem should take priority over other health problems?

Instead it should investigate how much of a problem it may be, then examine root causes, possible solutions, etc.

Your "teacher" wants you to justify an anti-gun proposal rather than an objective assessment of reality. You are being baited my friend

 

[docsleepy]

Look up the group cease-fire Chicago. They are very successful

 

[Solo]

1) Nature of the problem is "Cultural Decay in the inner city."
2) The extent of the problem is vast, especially in the inner city. (DOJ stats)
3) At-Risk are anyone who lives in any inner-city in any city in the USA (See DOJ status)
4) Lack of a two parent family, enhanced by social welfare.
5) It is not a health problem (Unless you have been shot). It is a moral and cultural problem which manifests itself into violent behavior by mostly young men.
6) Employment. Get the tax rates lower so business owners want to do business in the cities, hire young ethnic men, and lower their real unemployment rate from 18% to 5%.

7) Lack of education.
8) Poor housing options.

6) Employment. Get the tax rates lower so business owners want to do business in the cities, hire young ethnic men, and lower their real unemployment rate from 18% to 5%.

How low would the tax rates have to be for a business owner to put up with the high insurance rates along with the risk of vandalism and robbery he would have to deal with if he opened a business in an inner city?

 

[toejamm]

Solo, your #'s 7 and 8 are certainly valid and would fit in #4 of his required information list. (7&8 weren't asked for)

As for how low the tax rates have to go for a business to want to engage in commerce with the other issues of insurance, vandalism and robbery, the answer is "Low enough to make a profit."

Where that line of profit-making is, depends on many factors. The point is that there will never be business activity where there is high tax AND plenty of vandalism and robbery.

Profit is an incredible motivator.

 

[DROCK]

Interesting points, guys. This assignment is going to be tough. As mentioned before it looks like I'm set up to make a biased anti-gun argument. Do I make a "feel good" argument backed up by some skewed statistics? This is crazy... This is literally the last assignment I ever have to do for my Masters Degree. PS my college is in the Bronx.

 

[Godsgunman]

I would say if it has to be 10 pages, you best pick another topic. The cases of guns being violent to other guns are practically unheard of.

Focus on the human condition of violence towards his fellow man which is the REAL issue. You can mention guns as being a tool used in those violent acts but you also need to include stats showing the numbers compared to other tools such as knives, bats, rocks, pillows (yes pillows), rope, ect. I bet you will be surprised that the use of other items used in violent crimes equals if not exceeds the use of a firearm.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Wrong.
Seperating out "gun violence" from "violence" dooms any plan to failure.

+1
Make a point in your essay to interate that there is no such thing as "gun violence". There is just violence.
Guns are tools that violent people sometimes use. Just like knives, clubs, bats, fists, etc.

 

[ThorinNNY]

DROCK
You might try reading the book ( not the movie), but the book published in 1928 titled THE GANGS OF NEW YORK. I forgot the author`s name but I read it after the moderator Bartholomew Roberts recommended it in a thread on blackjacks, bludgeons etc in the Non Firearms weapons forums in the spring of 2012.You might want to send him a pm asking for the author`s name.
Guns may be the most convenient means of killing someone, but a recent FBI report states a person is much more likely to be murdered by someone using a hammer or a club of some kind than by any type of gun.

 

[doc2rn]

1. The nature of the problem
Decline in healthcare dollars spent on mental illness (look at the # of ptsd and suicide in military). VA and Military now playing catch up. Amounts by states decreasing.
2. The scope and extent of the problem on the national level as well as within your community.
With shrinking mental health budgets from the state, and diminishing matching funds from the Fed we are seeing a sky rocket in mentally ill people wandering the streets as homeless.
3. The population/s most "at-risk" for this problem
Veterans and the mentally ill
4. The causes of the problem
No one wants to fund mental healthcare facilities. Not enough profit in it for the for-profit hospitals.
5. Why this problem is more urgent than other health problems in your community
People who could be getting help are being turned away from hospitals daily for bedspace of the aging population.
6. Discuss one health education initiative strategy at the national level and on at the local level to address this problem and comment on their effectiveness so far.
The VA is currently fighting a backlog of new Vets seeking mental health treatment from PTSD to survivor syndrome.