Mass Shootings Aren’t an ‘Epidemic’
Criminology Professor to CNN’s Tapper: Mass Shootings Aren’t an ‘Epidemic’
On Thursday’s The Lead on CNN, James Allen Fox used actual crime data to splash cold water on a liberal talking point claiming that mass shootings on the rise: “It’s a horrific event when four, five, twelve people are gunned down…But let’s not think that this is an epidemic.” Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University, also pointed out that the now-expired “assault weapons” had little impact on the number of mass shootings.
Anchor Jake Tapper wondered “what does society need to do” to prevent such events from happening. His guest actually contended that it would be overkill to implement draconian measures in response to such massacres
You see, we treasure our personal freedoms in America, and unfortunately, occasional mass shootings – as horrific as they are – is one of the prices that we pay for the freedoms that we enjoy. I don’t want to minimize the pain and suffering of the victims and their families and those communities. They’re horrific. But it’s not an epidemic. Let’s not go in a knee-jerk way, and change the society for something that happens very rarely.
Tapper led the segment by noting the recent shootings in Oregon and Las Vegas, and highlighted that “the President calls it a one-day story, and suggests that mass shootings are on the rise.” He continued by pointing out that his guest “says no. He compiled the data of shootings with four or more fatalities from 1976 to 2012, and found that these incidents on a chart look like an EKG – up and down; a heartbeat – not a steady rise.”
The CNN anchor first asked Professor Fox, “I have to say, it’s hard to believe, when it seems like every week, we’re reporting another mass shooting – many of them at schools – that this isn’t an increasing trend. But that’s what your data shows. I have to ask, though, your figures only go to 2012. Could there have been a spike in the last two years?” The Northeastern University academic replied, in part, that “sure, there could be. But there was a spike in the early 2000s. There was a spike in the late 1990s…and usually, spikes are followed by troughs. So, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions….the trend line here is flat – even while the population in this country has grown….let’s not think that this is an epidemic.”
Tapper then wonder if there was “a jump in shootings shortly after Columbine.” Fox pointed out that “actually, there was a decline in shootings after Columbine…there was a period of time when there was no multiple victim shootings in schools. Prior to Columbine, actually, there were a whole stream of shootings – about six mass shootings – at schools for a period of three or four years.”
Later in the interview, the criminology professor did disclose that he supported some gun control: “It’s still a good idea that we limit the size of magazines. The extent to which mass shooters have to reload certainly does help us.” But Fox ended the segment with his “treasure our personal freedoms in America” answer.
The full transcript of the segment from Thursday’s The Lead on CNN: