Gun Violence --- Ben and Carolyn

Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/us/how-often-do-mass-shootings-occur-on-average-every-day-records-show.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=b-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Background Notes:

Recent shooting in San Bernardino has raised the debate about gun control again in the US. Our article is about the facts and statistics concerning gun violence in the US, specifically mass shootings.

Facts About the San Bernardino Shooting:

• 14 dead and at least 17 wounded in San Bernardino on Wednesday
• motive behind it is unclear
• couple were part of the killing
• the wife pledged allegiance to Daesh

Facts about Gun Violence in general:

• on average, one mass shooting per day in the US (mass shooting being 4 or more injured or killed)
• 60% of attackers were allowed to legally own weapons, and only 11% showed signs of mental health issues
• 336 days so far this year, 209 have had at least one shooting while 81 days have had at least
• including the recent San Bernardino attack, 462 people have been killed and 1314 have been injured in mass shootings this year
• statistics about mass shootings are really hard to find because they have only been thoroughly tracked in the past several years, which makes finding change over time trends very hard to come by
• the federal government is actually prohibited from using tax money to conduct any sort of research into gun violence
• the shooting in San Bernadino was on December 2nd and it was the second mass shooting of the month with 15 killed and 20 wounded so far
• according to Everytown for Gun Control, a non profit advocate of gun control, 88 people die a day in the US due to gun violence
• between 2009 and 2014, average of 23 mass shooting with more than four deaths per year

Bias:

The majority of the article was covering statistics and facts rather than opinions. There isn't much bias in the article, however it does lean a little left on the issue of gun control. It does show evidence from both sides, which makes it seem much less biased.

Democratic Values:

• Common good: obviously mass shootings affect lots of people, and if they continue as often as they are now, the whole country will be in danger
• Individual rights: this issue gets into the topic of gun laws (should we have more regulation of sales; should we do more thorough background checks; should it be illegal–at least in Maine–to carry a concealed weapon)