teddyR: I live in Virginia, which has very reasonable gun control laws, as opposed to D.C. and Maryland right next door, which have very draconian gun control laws, and yet have more problems with gun violence than does Virginia. Perhaps that's an indication that the problem isn't the gun but who has the gun.
Maryland & DC do not have 'very draconian gun control laws'. No state (or DC) in America has 'very draconian gun control laws'. The 9 gun control states plus DC have relatively strict gun control laws compared with the other states, especially those pro gun states which have very LAX gun control laws. DC & Richmond Va are considered sister cities:
...........................pop......... vcrime..murd ... rape .. robb.. asslt .. prop cr .. burg ... larc ....car thft
Virginia Richmond 207,799 .. 648.. 20.2 .. 18.3.. 304.6 .. 305.6.. 4,380.7.. 976.9 ..2,953.8 ..450.0
Wash DC .............632,323 ..1,177 ..13.9... 37.3 ..589.1 ...537.5 ..4,628.0 ..556.5 ..3,510.2.. 561.3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate_(2012)
secmo: The majority came from neighboring states with weak gun laws, like Virginia.
Johnston: the number from outside of DC is not 100 percent.
The figure was indeed 100% in the link secmo posted underneath his comment: .. traces on 865 guns in DC in 2012 .. 865 - 100% - were originally purchased outside the state. The glaring error imo, what 'state'?
Secmo's link was 2012, the link you posted to was for 2014 (which had 36 of 814 traces from DC) ; secmo was correct in his 100% figure, but incorrect, in that Virginia was the top trace plurality (not majority) state for guns into DC for 2012 - I think he originally meant it for both md & va as 'neighboring states', which would make him correct as 268 traces from va plus 220 from md is a majority of 865.
Johnston: .. how come places with those laxer gun laws don't have the problems DC and Chicago have?
Like these? There are only ~35 places (aka large cities >500k people) with populations contrastable with Chicago & DC, tho smaller cities >100k can also fit in a crime comparison.
....all rates, 2012..pop.. violcr... murder... prop
Gun control cities
Wash DC ... .632,323.. 1,177 ..13.9... ..4,628
Los Angeles 3,855,122 ...481 ....7.8 ......2,269 (+~14%vcr,2014)
Baltimore 625,474 .......1,405 ....35 ..... 4,660
New York 8,289,415 ......639 .... 5.1 .....1,722 (still champ >500k people)
Chicago 2,708,382 ........N/A ....18.3 .... 4,152 (handguns ok 2011)
Chicago 2,718,782........ 900 ............. 3,571 - http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/il/chicago/crime/
Pro gun cities:
Tenn Memphis 657,436 ....1,750 ....20.2 ....6,312
Dallas 1,241,549 ..................675 .....12.4 ...4,373
Houston 2,177,273 ...............992 .....10.0 ...4,945
Kansas City 464,073 ...........1,263 ......22 ....5,525
Nashville 620,886 ..............1,216 .....10.0.....4,195
St. Louis 318,667 ..............1,776 ......35 .....6,902 (siccw 2005)
Detroit 707,096 .................2,122 ......54 ....5,792 (siccw 2002, leans gun)
New Orleans 362,874............815 .......53 .....3,772
Oklahoma City 595,607 ........919 ......14.3 .... 5,941
Richmond .. 207,799.0 ........ 648.. 20.2 ..4,380
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate_(2012)
2010 .. Gun-Memphis,TN ..... Chicago,IL = gun control
Total Crime Risk.. 364.............. 238
Murder Risk .......361.............. 356 -- parity
Rape Risk..........342.............. 260
Robbery Risk...... 522.............. 465
Assault Risk...... 286.............. 289 -- parity
Burglary Risk..... 366.............. 122
Larceny Risk...... 205.............. 133
MotVeh TheftRisk.. 374.............. 212
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