A Red Christmas wish list: an auto-switch and more ammo for my AR

America looks forward to a dynamic future, with inspiring projects like Artemis, putting men, and women, on the moon. But Trump has less inspiring prospects for the rest of us, as he continues to re-litigate the 2020 election.

Trump, in an address announcing his plan to run for the presidency in 2024, called the US "a cesspool of crime." That is absolutely, provably false. A graph of violent crime rates in the U.S. by year shows a peak violent crime rate of 758.2 (violent crimes reported per 100,000 population) in 1991. The rate has declined steadily, reaching only 404.5. in 2010. Since then the rate has fluctuated around the 400 level. In other words only about half that of the 1991 high.

There was one aberration: According to FBI statistics, there was a 30% increase in murders in 2020. (Heritage) This is interesting because that was the fourth year in office for "law and order" Trump. So if he regains office how is he going to "fix" that? His stock solution: more guns. And in fact U.S. citizens bought almost 23 million more guns in 2020.

Will there be even more violent crimes reported for 2022? Probably, but that doesn't necessarily mean a rise in the rate. It looks as if the U.S. population will grow by about a half million in 2022. More people with more guns. So yes, there probably will be more violent crime. and the problem is exacerbated by the continued urbanization of the U.S.: more people, living closer together means more personal interactions, interactions that can, and do, lead to conflict. And it will undoubtedly be further exacerbated by Trump’s calls for violence.

Additionally, “A county-level analysis showed that firearm mortality shifted from the West to the South over time, as firearm homicide rates remained concentrated and growing in the South and firearm suicide rates spread more evenly across the country.” (CNN Health,11/29/22) This can be attributed to the Southern states generally being Red states that favor open carry statutes.

John H. Terrell