Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

A “Red State” or “Blue City” Murder Problem?

Monday, May 15, 2023

A “Red State” or “Blue City” Murder Problem?

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s gun control group, Everytown for Gun Safety, ranks the 50 states on how well they have comported their laws to the organization’s civilian disarmament agenda. In doing so, the group describes New Hampshire, with its few gun control laws, as a “national failure.”

That descriptor might come as a surprise to residents of the bucolic northern New England state. According to CDC homicide mortality data, in 2020 and 2021 pro-Second Amendment New Hampshire had the lowest homicide rate in the nation

In the Granite State in 2020, there were 0.9 homicides per 100,000 residents. In contrast, Everytown gun control “national leader” New York experienced 4.7 homicides per 100,000 residents – a rate 5 times higher than New Hampshire’s. Everytown’s highest ranking gun control state, California, had a homicide rate of 6.1, almost 7 times higher than New Hampshire’s. Everytown darling Illinois had a homicide rate of 11.2.

The point is, political actors like Everytown will manipulate metrics to advance their agenda.

In recent years, Democratic enclaves have been conducting an experiment with soft-on-crime policies. Predictably, the national homicide rate has increased alongside these highly-visible efforts.

Understanding that most of the voting public doesn’t condone the intentional promotion of lawlessness, some prominent Democrats have attempted to shift the narrative by making misleading claims about homicide in Republican-controlled “red states.” According to the left-wing talking point, murder rates are worse in these “red states.” Part of the implication is that the lack of gun control in these states is part of the problem.

It should be noted that New Hampshire has a Republican governor that enacted Constitutional Carry in 2017 and both houses of the New Hampshire General Court are controlled by Republicans.

As the American Enterprise Institute’s Marc A. Thiessen pointed out in an October 20, 2022 piece for the Washington Post, the “red state” murder claim is “bogus.” Thiessen explained, “In most of these red states, the high murder rates are driven by the lethal violence in their blue cities.”

Missouri is one of the states with a high homicide rate that those on the left have cited to support their thesis. Thiessen pointed out,

Take Missouri. Yes, it voted for Trump. But it is also home to two of the most dangerous U.S. cities — St. Louis and Kansas City — both of which are run by Democrats… According to the FBI, the state had about 520 murders in major metropolitan areas that year, 20 in cities outside metropolitan areas, and 28 in nonmetropolitan counties. So, the vast majority of Missouri’s homicides took place in its Democrat-run cities.

To elaborate on the matter of St. Louis, the Gateway to the West’s homicide rate per 100 thousand residents exploded from 64.5 in 2019 to 87.2 in 2020. The homicide rate was far and away the city’s highest in the preceding 50 years.

This startling increase in homicides came under the tenure of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. Elected to the office in 2016, Gardner has worked to “reform” the city’s criminal justice system - often placing her at odds with city law enforcement. Gardner has received significant support from anti-gun billionaire George Soros. As Politico reported back in 2016, Soros is engaged in a wide-ranging effort to remake the U.S. criminal justice system by electing activist prosecutors throughout the country.

Research from the Manhattan Institute also undermines the left-wing “red state” murder factoid.

In May 2022, the think tank published a report examining the 2020 homicide spike using county-level data. The researchers found that “Counties with a higher share of GOP voters not only have lower homicide rates but also a lower growth in homicide rates between 2019 and 2020.” Further, the authors noted, “We also find that there is no statistically significant relationship between the growth in the homicide rate and either the number of Covid-19 deaths or the number of guns sold per capita.”

Researchers at the Heritage Foundation also debunked this Democrat talking point in a November 2022 report titled “The Blue City Murder Problem.”

Examining the 30 cities with the highest homicide rates in the nation, the researchers found, “27 have Democratic mayors” and “within those 30 cities there are at least 14 Soros-backed or Soros-inspired rogue prosecutors.”

To show the impact that “blue cities” have on the homicide rate in “red states,” the authors recalculated several states’ homicide rates when high-crime Democrat-dominated cities and counties were removed from the equation.

In the case of Missouri, the report pointed out that,

The elected officials in the City of Saint Louis, Missouri, are all Democrats. The 28 members of the Board of Alderman are all Democrats, as are Circuit Attorney (the equivalent of a local district attorney) Kim Gardner and Mayor Tishaura Jones.

Saint Louis County is equally lopsided with elected Democrats, including five of the seven members of the County Council and District Attorney Wesley Bell.

The report went on to explain,

St. Louis City and St. Louis County heavily influence the state’s homicide rate, having 46.235 and 14.387 homicides per 100,000 residents, respectively. Removing St. Louis City lowers the state’s homicide rate from 9.363 to 7.482 per 100,000 residents, a 20.09 percent reduction. Removing St. Louis County lowers the homicide rate to 8.395 per 100,000 residents,) a 10.34 percent reduction, while dropping both counties reduces the state’s homicide rate by 35.17 percent to 6.070 homicides per 100,000 residents… removing both counties drops Missouri’s homicide ranking from fifth to 20th in the nation.

Drilling down even further, the research shows that violent crime is concentrated, both geographically and within social networks, even within cities. So, smearing “red” jurisdictions to try to blame the crime wave on a lack of gun control is beyond misleading. But of course, that’s the point.

IN THIS ARTICLE
crime
TRENDING NOW
Federal Legislation Introduced to Ban “Gas Operated Semiautomatic” Firearms

Friday, December 1, 2023

Federal Legislation Introduced to Ban “Gas Operated Semiautomatic” Firearms

Joe Biden has long insisted he would ban what he calls “assault weapons” and has enlisted a motley succession of extreme anti-gun legislators to aid in that effort. Now, Senators Angus King (IND-ME) and Martin ...

NBC Poll: Majority of Voter Households Own Firearms

News  

Monday, December 4, 2023

NBC Poll: Majority of Voter Households Own Firearms

The last few weeks haven’t been kind to gun grabbers - and we’re not just talking about President Joe Biden’s woeful poll numbers. Black Friday is typically the largest day of the year for gun sales. This year, gun buyers set ...

Crime in “America’s largest outdoor shooting range” – Lies, damned lies, and statistics

News  

Monday, December 4, 2023

Crime in “America’s largest outdoor shooting range” – Lies, damned lies, and statistics

In a press conference late last month, Chicago’s progressive new mayor, Brandon Johnson, shifted the blame for the crime epidemic and migrant crisis plaguing his city on his predecessor, Lori Lightfoot (another Democrat), and on “right-wing extremism.”

Virginia: Omnibus Gun Control Bills Filed Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Virginia: Omnibus Gun Control Bills Filed Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session

In Virginia, the pre-filing of legislation has begun for the 2024 session and anti-gun legislators are wasting no time in aggressively laying out their agenda. 

Following Terrorist Attack, Israel Relaxes Gun Laws and Arms Civilians

News  

Monday, October 16, 2023

Following Terrorist Attack, Israel Relaxes Gun Laws and Arms Civilians

Following an unprecedented terrorist attack on civilians that indiscriminately targeted even the elderly, women, and children, Israel has loosened its gun laws and is distributing firearms to civilians. As of press time, the number of victims killed in ...

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License Requirement in NRA-Backed Case.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License Requirement in NRA-Backed Case.

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals ruled that Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License (“HQL”) requirement is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. 

Nebraska: Kearney City Council Rescinds Gun-Free Zone Ordinance

Take Action  

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Nebraska: Kearney City Council Rescinds Gun-Free Zone Ordinance

On Tuesday, November 28th, the Kearney City Council voted 3-2 to rescind the recent gun-free zone ordinance Resolution 2023-149. 

Massachusetts: Anti-Gun Bill Passes House

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Massachusetts: Anti-Gun Bill Passes House

This evening, anti-gun politicians in the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed H. 4135, “an act modernizing firearm laws” by a vote of 120-38. This bill, formerly known as HD 4420 and HD 4607, now heads ...

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

News  

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

More than three years have passed since Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban and mandatory confiscation (“buyback”) of what he called “military grade assault weapons,” which was followed by a national handgun “freeze” ...

The NRA Youth Education Summit (YES) will make its return July 16th-21st, 2024!

News  

Second Amendment  

Take Action  

Monday, December 4, 2023

The NRA Youth Education Summit (YES) will make its return July 16th-21st, 2024!

The NRA Youth Education Summit is a six-day, all-expense paid leadership and scholarship experience for rising high school juniors and seniors in the Washington, DC area. Each summer, 30-40 high school students are selected from ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.