You know, of course. Everyone knows except the people so deeply invested in the gun control narrative that they probably can't even admit it to themselves.
But first the numbers,
as reported by Pew Research.
Please note that despite a brief uptick, all levels are lower today than they were in 2004, after the expiration of the so-called "assault weapons ban." So the bottom line is that gun control is a solution in search of a problem. Gun violence is way down over the past 20 years, and while that doesn't erase the pain of a horrific crime like New Town, it does instruct us that it's unwise to enact panicky new policy initiatives that ignore the larger truth of the situation.
But of course, the real question is why the public doesn't know that. I suppose we should start by challenging the premise somewhat: Is the public really unaware? Its relative lack of enthusiasm for gun control seems to suggest the public at least recognizes the Democrats are mainly engaging in political opportunism and not offering a serious solution to a real problem.
That said, to the extent that the public really doesn't know about this trend, is there really any question as to why? The media are bought into the narrative that gun violence is out of control, and while it could surely have checked the actual numbers before Pew did their job for them, they figured it wasn't even necessary, since
everyone knows gun violence is on the rise, and
everyone knows gun control is the answer, but
everyone knows the evil gun lobby stops it from happening.
So as a result of what everyone knows, no one knows the real truth. Hopefully the release of this study does some good in changing that.
