Speak Out, College Kids!

So now that every newscaster has broadcast from Virginia Tech, now that the candle light ceremonies have taken place and the incredibly bad and disturbing writing of the killer has been read by all, lets get real.
Lets stop this gun madness in the U.S. Lets not get intimidated any more by the gun lobby and by the lunatics who say that guns don't kill people...etc.
And College Kids: We need your help. Maybe your generation is saner than your parents and grandparents. Speak up! And help fight this madness. You have a voice and a vote. Use it.
Below are some sobering statistics about gun violence to give you real " ammunition" to fight the pro-gun nutters.


From the U.S. Department of Justice · Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
link: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/weapons.htm

Homicide trends in the U.S.
Weapons used

Homicides are most often committed with guns,
especially handguns

Like the homicide rate generally, gun-involved incidents increased sharply in the late 1980's and early 1990's before falling to a low in 1999. The number of gun-involved homicides increased after that to levels experienced in the mid 1980's.

During this same time period, homicides involving weapons other than firearms have declined slowly.



Gun homicides by teens and young adults rose sharply
beginning with the mid-1980's and fell after the early 1990's

Gun homicides by persons 18-24 years old declined after the peak in 1993 but have not returned to the levels seen prior to the mid 1980's.

The trend in nongun homicides shows little change, declining or fluctuating slightly for all age groups.

Gun homicides by adults 25 and older reflect a general downward trend, although they increased slightly in recent years.

The sharp increase in homicides in the late 1980's and much of the subsequent decline is attributable to gun violence by juveniles and young adults.



Homicides of teens and young adults are more likely to be committed with a gun than homicides of persons of other ages

The percentage of homicide victims killed with a gun increases with age up to age 17 and declines thereafter.


Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2004.
See also Additional information about the data.