It's catches our attention when a lot of people get killed by someone who is arguably

[hedgehog]

mentally ill, but the real disaster is the drip, drip, drip of shootings that go by unnoticed every day in some of our cities. I haven't posted in any of the threads about stop and frisk in New York City because I am ambivalent. Are gun deaths in New York City down because young men don't carry fire arms on a routine basis?

I have no guns in the house, but my neighbors hunt out back with my permission. One reason I'm very happy to allow them to hunt is that they are responsible people who are no hazard to me and who also keep other people from hunting back there.

[HopeHoops]

1. Around here, most of them are random. Someone gets hit by a stray bullet. It's sad.

And we're not even talking gangs or big money. This is over petty shit like a $20 bag of crack or heroin. Sometimes there's no reason anyone can come up with. Allison Hill is a free-for-all and the cops can't keep up with it. When I was a teen (late 70's), we used fists even though we all had 4" Buck knives hooked to our belts. It was a matter of honor. Guns are for pussies. (No offense to females intended)

[Archae]

2. Here in Sheboygan a shooter just got convicted today.

He's going to jail for life.

It was a gang shooting.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

3. I don't mean to minimize the tragedy in Colorado....

But two weekends ago, nine people were killed and 22 were wounded in Chicago.

Two weekends before that, 8 killed and 48 wounded.

Two weekends before that, 6 killed and 36 wounded.

The Aurora shooting happens basically every weekend in Chicago, just not all at once and not all by a single shooter. And that's just Chicago. Add to that all the shootings in a single weekend in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, New York, and elsewhere, and you've got a stupifyingly large number.

[Archae]

4. I know.

The "blame the victims" or "blame the gun" crowds are out in force.