54 People Shot Dead During Zimmerman Trial. In Chicago Alone.

[Robb]

And not ONE of them has said a single good thing about how gun violence is down! Ingrates!

While the nation was fixated on the trial of George Zimmerman, who Saturday was acquitted in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, many were left wondering when the media would tell their similarly tragic stories of lives lost to gun violence.

Over the duration of the trial, over 50 people's lives came to an end in shootings in Chicago alone -- many of them black and many of them teenagers, just like Trayvon.

In the days since the trial, three more people were killed in Chicago shootings, including 16-year-old Joseph Brewer Jr. Brewer, who was gunned down Sunday afternoon while walking to visit his infant daughter, loved video games, basketball and was "family-oriented," his family told the Chicago Tribune.

Read More (and INFOGRAPHIC!): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/16/54-people-shot-in-chicago_n_3606394.html

[hack89]

1. Lowest number of homicides in the first half of the year since 1965

30% drop in homicides from last year. Do you know what measures they put in place to produce these drops?

[Robb]

2. I know! What's with these dead people? Why can't they just be happy?

[hack89]

5. Chicago showed some success in reducing gun violence. How did they do it?

Last edited Wed Jul 17, 2013, 12:15 PM - Edit history (1)

I am not saying that the present rate is acceptable. But they seem to have found ways to reduce the numbers. What did they do?

[Hoyt]

16. It's certainly not arming up white folks and the kind of stuff the gunners will want us to believe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/us/chicago-homicides-fall-by-34-percent-so-far-this-year.html?pagewanted=all

[hack89]

17. So a focused crack down on gangs. Makes sense to me. nt

[NYC_SKP]

3. Poverty and hopelessness caused most of these deaths, Robb.

I'm in California, but was led to believe that Chicago has fairly strict prohibitions on gun ownership, so it makes one wonder.

Yes, universal background checks and more consistent gun laws across the 50 states is the right approach, but it won't feed people or give them jobs.

Treat the root causes of violence among the hopeless and helpless, that's the conversation we REALLY need to be having.

PS, I won't go to a Huffpost link but I don't doubt the figures in the OP.

[Robb]

6. That's just what Ted Kennedy said.

Chicago already has the strictest gun control laws in the nation – and some of the highest rates of violence. Write this down somebody: Gun control doesn’t work.

Oops, my mistake. That was Ted NUGENT, not Ted Kennedy.

Whichever. You've certainly got a hold of something there, pal.

[NYC_SKP]

10. Fail. Nice try but something is working, homicides are down by 29%, shootings down by 25%.

Not a thing in my replies can be associated with Ted Nugent, and your article even indicates a drop in crime.

Your OP links to an article that's a classic non-sequitur rant about the violence that is actually falling in Chicago.

It would be funny if it wasn't pathetic how much energy is spent without addressing the root causes.

Also, your arguments, weak or nonexistent as they are, would probably be stronger if you left out the insults and innuendos.

[spin]

14. Actually most of the deaths are caused by drug gangs fighting over turf in Chicago. ...

A direct result of our failed war on drugs.

August 23, 2012 7:19 PM
PRINT TEXT
Mexican drug cartels fight turf battles in Chicago
By Armen Keteyian

(CBS News) CHICAGO - Gun violence is out of control in Chicago. Just last night, there were eight shootings, two of them deadly.

That pushes the total so far in 2012 to 351 shooting deaths -- up 30 percent from last year. Drug gangs are a big reason.

In an afternoon drive on Chicago's southwest side, Jack Riley sees signs of what he calls the "toxic" drug war laying waste to this city.

Riley is special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Office in Chicago and in four neighboring states.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57499523/mexican-drug-cartels-fight-turf-battles-in-chicago/

Note: the entire article is a worthwhile read

[NYC_SKP]

15. At the root of drug use, however, is the lack of opportunity.

You are right about the war on drugs, and it's part of the oppression of people that makes them feel so hopeless.

The article is a distraction, as is the OP.

[spin]

18. I will agree that the lack of opportunity plays a big role. ...

It's hard to live a good life when the best job you can hope for is as a hamburger flipper.

[JoePhilly]

4. In how many of these did the police let the shooter go initially?

[NYC_SKP]

7. Oh, look: "Compared to 2012, overall homicides are down 29 percent in Chicago."

From the link in the OP (I know, HuffPost)...

Compared to 2012, overall homicides are down 29 percent in Chicago through the end of June and shooting incidents are down 25 percent.** Homicides over the first half of the year were the lowest they've been since 1965. Still, the number of gunshot homicides during this period (June 10-July 13) is slightly higher this year than in recent years.

Glass half empty, much?

[HipChick]

8. Actually, statistic show that more people were shot in Texas for same time period..

so what's OP's point again?

[Blue_Tires]

11. the point is one of those subtle

"black folks and the media are indifferent when we kill our own" -memes

[Robb]

13. Not hardly. They're indifferent no matter who kills black folks.

They were dragged kicking and screaming into covering the death of Trayvon. And then only because they thought there'd be race riots when the white guy went free.

[Puzzledtraveller]

9. If it's not on TV it's not important

or worse, it doesn't exist. Especially if it's not in my neighborhood.

[datasuspect]

19. but most guns are illegal in Chicago

how can this be?