Posted by Jed Lewison on Tue May 1, 2007 at 5:04 AM Pacific

When it comes to guns and mental illness, the media is spending 95% of the time talking about 0.6% (or less) of the problem

Thank heavens that the media and our politicians have finally kicked into high gear to protect us from crazed rampaging killers. From the New York Times:

Virginia Ends a Loophole in Gun Laws

By IAN URBINA
Published: May 1, 2007

WASHINGTON, April 30 — Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia closed a loophole Monday in the state’s gun laws that allowed a mentally disturbed Virginia Tech student to buy the guns used in a shooting rampage that left 33 dead at the university on April 16.

And this weekend, 60 Minutes aired a story hammering home the point that there are 2.7 million people with mental illnesses who should not be allowed to buy guns. Hooray for 60 Minutes bravely tackling an issue that only a media whore desperate for ratings would dare touch! But I have to admit that I grew a bit concerned about the merits of their story when I noticed that the 2.7 million statistic came from a New York Times article published seven years ago. That's right, the cracker jack fact checkers at 60 Minutes are using data that is (technically speaking) from the last millennium.

The article that CBS cribbed its facts from was part of a multi-part series on rampage killers. From the article:

That is the profile of the 102 killers in 100 rampage attacks examined by The New York Times in a computer-assisted study looking back more than 50 years and including the shootings in 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.,  and one by a World War II veteran on a residential street in Camden, N.J., in 1949. Four hundred twenty-five people were killed and  510 people were injured in the attacks. The database, which primarily focused on cases in the last decade, is believed to be the largest ever compiled on this phenomenon in the United States.

Though the attacks are rare when compared with other American murders, they  have provoked an intense national discussion about crime, education and American culture. The Times found, however, that the debate may have largely overlooked a critical issue: At least half of the killers showed signs of serious mental health problems.

If you detect a tinge of glibness in my tone, please understand that it is directed at the media and politicians. These rampage killings, including the recent one at Virginia Tech, are all horrible tragedies, and no one can ever minimize their impact. But the extent to which the mass media and politicians are now obsessing over preventing another such tragedy completely misses how these killings fit into the larger picture of intentional killing in the United States, including both homicide and suicide.

From 1976 to 2004, there were over 550,000 murders in the United States. 96.4% of those victims were killed in single-victim homicides. In other words, only 3.6% of all homicide victims were killed along with one or more other victims. And 83.6% of those victims were killed in slayings with just two victims. In fact, only 0.6% of all murder victims were killed in incidents with three more more victims. And of the 552,156 murders during that time period, just 384 occurred in incidents with 5 or more victims. I didn't learn how to compute percentages that small during my time in college, but I'm pretty sure it would be a minuscule one.

The media has spent a great deal of time focusing on the need for the government to protect "us" from "them" (the mentally ill). Clearly, the threat of random rampage killings from mentally ill people is extremely small by any standard when you look at the larger picture.

For example, from 1976-2004, 64,329 people were killed by intimates (spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends). 63.5% of those victims were female. You were 132 times more likely to be killed by your current or former husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend than in a rampage killing!

But as long as the media is going to discuss the dangerous nexus of mental illness and violence, why don't they talk more about suicide? Suicide is, after all, twice as common as homicide. Heck, statistically speaking, you were more than 2,300x more likely to kill yourself than to be killed in a rampage killing with five more victims! Roughly two-thirds of all intentional deaths in the United States are suicides, and the overwhelming majority of suicide victims are male with white men having by far the highest suicide rate of any demographic group.

From 2001 to 2004 alone, more than 100,000 people committed suicide. In fact, more college students around the country have already killed themselves since the massacre at Virginia Tech than were actually killed on that horrible day.

One fact that is obvious is that the most effective weapon used in suicide is a gun. 86% of self-harm cases involving a gun are fatal. Just 5% of self-harm incidents not involving a gun are fatal. It's no surprise that 54% of all suicides involve a gun.

Although I'm not in favor of draconian gun bans, I do think it's reasonable to have discussions about what kinds of gun policies we should have in this country. It seems quite likely that sensible improvements in our laws can save lives. Probably even more important is educating people about the risks involved with gun ownership, particularly in households with an occupant at risk of suicide. But most clear of all is that the media's obsession with Virginia Tech has almost nothing to do with solving real problems facing our nation. To put it in statistical terms, when it comes to gun violence and mental illness, they are spending 95% of their time talking about 0.6% (or less) of the problem. But as long as more people are watching their broadcasts, they can charge more for advertising, and at the end of the day, that's all they really care about.

When it comes to guns and mental illness, the media is spending 95% of the time talking about 0.6% (or less) of the problem

Thank heavens that the media and our politicians have finally kicked into high gear to protect us from crazed rampaging killers. From the New York Times:

Virginia Ends a Loophole in Gun Laws

By IAN URBINA
Published: May 1, 2007

WASHINGTON, April 30 — Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia closed a loophole Monday in the state’s gun laws that allowed a mentally disturbed Virginia Tech student to buy the guns used in a shooting rampage that left 33 dead at the university on April 16.

And this weekend, 60 Minutes aired a story hammering home the point that there are 2.7 million people with mental illnesses who should not be allowed to buy guns. Hooray for 60 Minutes bravely tackling an issue that only a media whore desperate for ratings would dare touch! But I have to admit that I grew a bit concerned about the merits of their story when I noticed that the 2.7 million statistic came from a New York Times article published seven years ago. That's right, the cracker jack fact checkers at 60 Minutes are using data that is (technically speaking) from the last millennium.

The article that CBS cribbed its facts from was part of a multi-part series on rampage killers. From the article:

That is the profile of the 102 killers in 100 rampage attacks examined by The New York Times in a computer-assisted study looking back more than 50 years and including the shootings in 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.,  and one by a World War II veteran on a residential street in Camden, N.J., in 1949. Four hundred twenty-five people were killed and  510 people were injured in the attacks. The database, which primarily focused on cases in the last decade, is believed to be the largest ever compiled on this phenomenon in the United States.

Though the attacks are rare when compared with other American murders, they  have provoked an intense national discussion about crime, education and American culture. The Times found, however, that the debate may have largely overlooked a critical issue: At least half of the killers showed signs of serious mental health problems.

If you detect a tinge of glibness in my tone, please understand that it is directed at the media and politicians. These rampage killings, including the recent one at Virginia Tech, are all horrible tragedies, and no one can ever minimize their impact. But the extent to which the mass media and politicians are now obsessing over preventing another such tragedy completely misses how these killings fit into the larger picture of intentional killing in the United States, including both homicide and suicide.

From 1976 to 2004, there were over 550,000 murders in the United States. 96.4% of those victims were killed in single-victim homicides. In other words, only 3.6% of all homicide victims were killed along with one or more other victims. And 83.6% of those victims were killed in slayings with just two victims. In fact, only 0.6% of all murder victims were killed in incidents with three more more victims. And of the 552,156 murders during that time period, just 384 occurred in incidents with 5 or more victims. I didn't learn how to compute percentages that small during my time in college, but I'm pretty sure it would be a minuscule one.

The media has spent a great deal of time focusing on the need for the government to protect "us" from "them" (the mentally ill). Clearly, the threat of random rampage killings from mentally ill people is extremely small by any standard when you look at the larger picture.

For example, from 1976-2004, 64,329 people were killed by intimates (spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends). 63.5% of those victims were female. You were 132 times more likely to be killed by your current or former husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend than in a rampage killing!

But as long as the media is going to discuss the dangerous nexus of mental illness and violence, why don't they talk more about suicide? Suicide is, after all, twice as common as homicide. Heck, statistically speaking, you were more than 2,300x more likely to kill yourself than to be killed in a rampage killing with five more victims! Roughly two-thirds of all intentional deaths in the United States are suicides, and the overwhelming majority of suicide victims are male with white men having by far the highest suicide rate of any demographic group.

From 2001 to 2004 alone, more than 100,000 people committed suicide. In fact, more college students around the country have already killed themselves since the massacre at Virginia Tech than were actually killed on that horrible day.

One fact that is obvious is that the most effective weapon used in suicide is a gun. 86% of self-harm cases involving a gun are fatal. Just 5% of self-harm incidents not involving a gun are fatal. It's no surprise that 54% of all suicides involve a gun.

Although I'm not in favor of draconian gun bans, I do think it's reasonable to have discussions about what kinds of gun policies we should have in this country. It seems quite likely that sensible improvements in our laws can save lives. Probably even more important is educating people about the risks involved with gun ownership, particularly in households with an occupant at risk of suicide. But most clear of all is that the media's obsession with Virginia Tech has almost nothing to do with solving real problems facing our nation. To put it in statistical terms, when it comes to gun violence and mental illness, they are spending 95% of their time talking about 0.6% (or less) of the problem. But as long as more people are watching their broadcasts, they can charge more for advertising, and at the end of the day, that's all they really care about.

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