Time for RKBA DU'ers to make a choice...the NRA or the USA?

[HankyDub]

78. The reduction is not uniform

You said:

Considering the plummeting gun crime and accident rates, I think they (the NRA) have done a lot of good.

Gun crime rates are no longer plummeting. They have leveled off. In my opinion this is probably due more to abortion being safe and legal since 1973 than any movement on gun laws. According to the NIJ:

Homicides committed with firearms peaked in 1993 at 17,075, after which the figure steadily fell, leveling off in 1999 at 10,117. Gun-related homicides have increased slightly each year since 2002.

http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/gun-violence/

State Firearm Death Rates, Ranked by Rate, 2007


http://www.vpc.org/fadeathchart10.htm

Summer of Gun Violence Continues in New York, Extending Troublesome Trend


Following yesterday’s shootings, which claimed the lives of three of the eight victims, the NYPD released a series of frightening statistics that illustrated a significant jump in gun-related violence in the past year, which worked to contradict Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s assertion that gun crime “traditionally” peaks during the heat of the summer.

Total gun incidents during this week rose from 47 in 2011 to 62 in 2012.

http://www.allmediany.com/news/5065-summer-of-gun-violence-continues-in-new-york-extending-troublesome-trend

Chicago’s crime issue will take ‘incremental change’

[...]“We have an unacceptable level of gun violence in this city…The goal is zero murders, zero shootings,” McCarthy says. However, “while we have a double-digit reduction in the overall crime rate in the city, we’ve got an increase of about 90 shootings so far this year so that doesn’t match up.” [...]

http://thegrio.com/2012/06/25/chicagos-crime-issue-will-take-incremental-change/

Seattle to address increase in gun violence

Between January and May of 2012, 21 people in Seattle have lost their lives due to homicide -- already one more than all of 2011.

http://www.krem.com/news/northwest-news/Seattle-to-address-increase-in-gun-violence-159444475.html

Editorial: Trenton gun violence surge amid pending police layoffs presents dangerous combination

As the rate of shootings rises in Trenton, the number of police officers in the city will soon drop substantially. Police last week reported a 66 percent increase of gun-fueled violence over last year, a “red flag” indicating an escalation of illegally procured guns in the city.

http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2011/07/editorial_trenton_gun_violence.html

Robberies, Gun Violence Increased Last Year, Justice Report Says (2006)

Americans were robbed and victimized by gun violence at greater rates last year than the year before, even though overall violent and property crime reached a 32-year low, the Justice Department said yesterday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/AR2006091000931.html

Among comparable nations, the US consistently has a much higher homicide rate and gun homicide rate than other comparable countries. So to pretend that lax gun laws don't contribute to these higher homicide rates isn't honest. So while I would not say that weaker gun laws = more gun crimes, (many factors influence the rate at which gun related crimes occur) the easy availability of guns is certainly one of them.