CNN anti-gun article on Philly crime

[bloomautomatic]

And of course guns are the problem...not the criminals. Towards the end, there's a quote about in the 70's they used zip guns or homemade guns. That's proof positive that a criminal is going to do whatever they can to arm themselves. If you take all their guns away they'll make one. If they can't make one, they'll find another weapon.

Vince


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/16/phi...des/index.html

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Isaac Diaz walks through the toughest parts of North Philadelphia each day on his way to and from high school. But what really scares the 18-year-old senior is lying in his own bed at night.

He can hear the gunshots then.

"Last year it wasn't so often. Now it's as often as every night," Diaz recently told CNN. "It might be your best friend dying, and you don't even know about it."

Out on the street, Diaz said, a casual stroll can suddenly turn deadly. (Watch Diaz explain how he lives with daily gunfire )

"You don't know what's going to happen," he said. "You don't know if you're walking in the neighborhood and a guy from middle school sees you and he just had a bad incident with his mother and father and he's walking around with a gun."

"I'm afraid every day."

Philadelphia is just one of the nation's cities trying to deal with a murder spike. As of Wednesday, 150 people have been slain in the city, compared to 140 by this time last year.

The numbers put Philadelphia on a pace well ahead of a bloody 2006, when 406 people were slain by others in the so-called City of Brotherly Love. It was the first time homicides topped the 400 mark since 1990. (Watch a mother grieve over a son shot for his car )

Nationally, violent crime is spiking, too.

FBI data from December, the most recent statistics available, show murders and robberies rose by 3.7 percent nationwide during the first six months of 2006.

Those findings came on top of a 2.2 percent crime hike in 2005 -- the first increase since 2001.

Guns plentiful
The spike prompted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to order a study of violence in 18 cities. The results were released earlier this week, when Gonzales announced that the Justice Department would spend $50 million to combat urban violence.

The Justice Department concluded that the increased violence is caused by a younger and more violent generation of criminals who have easy access to guns. Many are loosely organized into street gangs and crews.

In Philadelphia, police and civic activists point to several factors, including poverty and drugs. But by far the biggest catalyst, they say, is the availability of guns.

Young men who grow up angry with few opportunities use guns to win status on the streets, said Greg Bucceroni, of Men United for a Better Philadelphia, which mentors at-risk teens, counsels crime victims and sponsors community events to try to reduce violence. (Watch Bucceroni talk about how why the violence is getting worse )

"They feel that's how they get respect, so the level of violence escalates," he said.

Bucceroni works for the city but also spends much of his time volunteering to help guide kids who have gotten into trouble. An activist since the early 1980s, he has seen the changes.

"In the 70s, I mean, if somebody came up and they had a zip gun -- which was a homemade gun -- that was big time," he said. "Now if, if you don't have an AK-47 or a sawed-off shotgun or a 9 mm, even if you pull out a .38, they laugh at you because, 'Is that all you've got?' That is their mentality when now people are carrying automatic handguns."

The city is trying several initiatives to help reduce the murder rate, including hiring police and truant officers, and redeploying police officers to problem areas.

'Hometown security'
Police Commissioner Seymour Johnson told CNN the police can't stop the violence by themselves.

"The clergy has to get involved," he said. "The business people have to get involved. The politicians have to get involved. The community has to get involved. If you are only going to depend on law enforcement it is not going to change the quality of life."

As he speaks, his passion grows.

"A 9-year-old boy is killed on the streets of Philadelphia, no one comes forward. Where a 4-year-old girl is shot no one comes forward. Where a house is firebombed, six people killed -- four under the age of 5 years -- no one comes forward. The community has to come to realize by not coming forward they are only hurting themselves," Johnson said.

Besides spending $50 million this year to take guns and drugs off the streets, the Justice Department will push Congress to enact laws to let the federal government better investigate and prosecute violent crime, Gonzales said.

Johnson welcomes the help, but said cities suffered when federal priorities shifted after 9/11.

"Funds coming into the city have been cut -- not just for policing but for education, for jobs, for health care, for all kinds of things," he said. "All of the money is going overseas -- again homeland security is very important, but hometown security is just as important."

[billamj]

Does this really surprise anyone? CNN, the Clinton News Network, Anti-gun? Oh, the horrors! [/SARCASM]

[Emptymag]

Johnson welcomes the help, but said cities suffered when federal priorities shifted after 9/11.

"Funds coming into the city have been cut -- not just for policing but for education, for jobs, for health care, for all kinds of things," he said. "All of the money is going overseas -- again homeland security is very important, but hometown security is just as important."

Ahhh yes... let's throw money at the problem. THAT will work.

[God's Country]

Originally Posted by Emptymag

Ahhh yes... let's throw money at the problem. THAT will work.

Why not. It's done wonders for our educational system, social security, welfare....

[RoyJackson]

I just sent this to CNN:
On 16 May, you used this headline:
"Teen 'afraid every day' as gun violence soars"
Your bias is showing here and I expect you to correct it.
Violence is violence, regardless of the tool being used to commit that violence.
By specifying guns (regardless if they were the most commonly used or another tool), CNN is displaying it's prejudice against firearms in general.
Please remove this headline immediately. In the future, please refrain from the term "Gun Violence" unless the gun itself (without human intervention) did the violence.
You know, it a shame, but most Americans have little trust in news reporting any longer. I get on to check out the weather and sports for the most part.
I know the "news" you report (not just CNN, I'm afraid) cannot be trusted to be impartial or accurate.
Thanks

I'm requesting your help on this...everytime you see the term "Gun Violence", please contact the news agency responsible to correct their error.
Be polite and USE SPELL CHECK

Thanks folks!

[mauser]

Philadelphia: Teen 'afraid every day' as gun violence soars

"A 9-year-old boy is killed on the streets of Philadelphia, no one comes forward. Where a 4-year-old girl is shot no one comes forward. Where a house is firebombed, six people killed -- four under the age of 5 years -- no one comes forward. The community has to come to realize by not coming forward they are only hurting themselves," Johnson said.

No mention of how the 9 year old boy is killed, are they hoping that everyone will assume that it must have involved a gun?

A house is firebombed, six people killed --

These chosen examples, in a "news" story about "gun violence", state that one of the eight deaths mentioned involved a firearm, six were caused by arson and one is unspecified.

Honest, unbiased reporting in it's purest form.

[glassman]

People killed by criminals supports the need for law abiding citizens to arm themselves!! Why don't they get that??

[ScooterKrunch]

I just got back from Philly, actually northeast Philly. I'm usually alone working late at night in the warehouse fixing trucks, I'm always armed. Anyway, I saw a news report that a student was arrested for possessing a handgun on school property. The kid arrested had a stolen gun with "hollow" bullets belonging to a retired leo. They interviewed other students one who said that the kid arrested only had a gun because he was scared for his life, other students were going to shoot him. It all started Monday with a fight where the kid was suspended. He snuck into the school during a delivery, and through a side door. Yeah he was really afraid for his life. I tried to Google it but couldn't find anything. I don't know what will teach these people, but the laws they are trying to pass wouldn't have done squat for that stolen gun. It is really hard to imagine what is going through people's minds.

[Brick]

[quote=bloomautomatic;63808]

Police Commissioner Seymour Johnson told CNN the police can't stop the violence by themselves.

"The clergy has to get involved," he said. "The business people have to get involved. The politicians have to get involved. The community has to get involved. If you are only going to depend on law enforcement it is not going to change the quality of life."

As he speaks, his passion grows.

"A 9-year-old boy is killed on the streets of Philadelphia, no one comes forward. Where a 4-year-old girl is shot no one comes forward. Where a house is firebombed, six people killed -- four under the age of 5 years -- no one comes forward. The community has to come to realize by not coming forward they are only hurting themselves," Johnson said.

QUOTE]

This is one of the few "correct" passages in this article!

Until the people in the community start turning in the bad boys in their midst, the police can do nothing. The people living in the area know who the gang-bangers are. They know who the killers are. Whether you call it "omerta" or "no snitchin" nothing is going to happen until the people decide to throw the cruds out.