Mass shootings and important voter issues

[Value Buy]

Not to waylay the California shooting thread, so I want to talk about voter issues this year.

It seems strange how gun violence was not as important an issue as everyone thought it was going to be in the election. It fell to like 10% total of the issues  (about issue #4) that were important to voters.
After the Parkland scool shooting in Florida, it was determined the midterms would be ground zero for gun violence and we had the Pittsburgh massacre a week before the election.
For some reason it was like fourth in voter concerns at about 10% in rankings of importance.
Why?

[zibazinski]

Because we can’t put people in mental institutions to get the help they need. They have “rights.” So they wander the streets being victimized and causing issues. I believe this guy was “passed” by doctors or psychologists, I could be wrong, so it was missed anyway. If you want a gun you can get a gun. The problem is with the person. I grew up with unlocked guns in the home. Bullied at school, not well treated at home. Never once did I think of shooting anyone. Now I could do it if threatened and not think twice about it. But the world is different.

[billisonboard]

Nov 9, 2018 8:48:32 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

...
For some reason it was like fourth in voter concerns at about 10% in rankings of importance.
Why?

is in the details. So here is a link to a story on the topic.

What this story says is when given a list of 4 issues and asked which was "the most important facing the country", 1 in 10 selected gun policy. That was the fewest as far as top priority. It would be necessary to have voters rank order the 4 to actually report on where it feel as a priority.

Having said that, it is a good question as to why it wasn't the top priority for more voters. I would say it was a combination of self interest (health care) and campaign noise (immigration) that drove selection.

[Value Buy]

Nov 9, 2018 9:45:49 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Nov 9, 2018 8:48:32 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

...
For some reason it was like fourth in voter concerns at about 10% in rankings of importance.
Why?

is in the details. So here is a link to a story on the topic.

What this story says is when given a list of 4 issues and asked which was "the most important facing the country", 1 in 10 selected gun policy. That was the fewest as far as top priority. It would be necessary to have voters rank order the 4 to actually report on where it feel as a priority.

Having said that, it is a good question as to why it wasn't the top priority for more voters. I would say it was a combination of self interest (health care) and campaign noise (immigration) that drove selection.

I am wondering if in some Congressional districts that flipped democratic, whether gun issues played a part in Republican losses. I wonder if media has not drilled down on this issue because illegal immigration, SC justice nomination, etc, buried the issue.
I have yet to find an article here in Florida whether the Parkland school shooting had any repercusssions even in the district where the shooting ocurred. It amazes me it was such a large national issue, and yet it immediately disappeared publicly right before the election. Had major media just moved on to the next issue or was it actually part of Tuesday's outcome?
Thoughts?

[happyhoix]

Nov 9, 2018 10:10:03 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Nov 9, 2018 9:45:49 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

is in the details. So here is a link to a story on the topic.

What this story says is when given a list of 4 issues and asked which was "the most important facing the country", 1 in 10 selected gun policy. That was the fewest as far as top priority. It would be necessary to have voters rank order the 4 to actually report on where it feel as a priority.

Having said that, it is a good question as to why it wasn't the top priority for more voters. I would say it was a combination of self interest (health care) and campaign noise (immigration) that drove selection.

I am wondering if in some Congressional districts that flipped democratic, whether gun issues played a part in Republican losses. I wonder if media has not drilled down on this issue because illegal immigration, SC justice nomination, etc, buried the issue.
I have yet to find an article here in Florida whether the Parkland school shooting had any repercusssions even in the district where the shooting ocurred. It amazes me it was such a large national issue, and yet it immediately disappeared publicly right before the election. Had major media just moved on to the next issue or was it actually part of Tuesday's outcome?
Thoughts?

One of the districts in an Atlanta suburb flipped from a GOP representative (Handel) to a dem who ran on a gun control platform. This was surprising because it's in Georgia, traditionally a very pro gun area, but the urban/suburban areas are becoming deeper blue.

I think in Florida there were certain pro gun candidates who were defeated by anti-gun candidates, with help from the Parkland students.

[dezii]

Nov 9, 2018 8:53:10 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Because we can’t put people in mental institutions to get the help they need. They have “rights.” So they wander the streets being victimized and causing issues. I believe this guy was “passed” by doctors or psychologists, I could be wrong, so it was missed anyway. If you want a gun you can get a gun. The problem is with the person. I grew up with unlocked guns in the home. Bullied at school, not well treated at home. Never once did I think of shooting anyone. Now I could do it if threatened and not think twice about it. But the world is different.

I thought I read that there were off duty police officers present, probably young ones...Surprised they were not armed...where I came from...have a cop for a cousin...he always was armed when off duty...believe it was mandated...Even in a place that served liquor they would be covered...off duty or on duty...

Any comments?

[weltschmerz]

Interesting article.


But there is one quirk that consistently puzzles America’s fans and critics alike. Why, they ask, does it experience so many mass shootings?



Perhaps, some speculate, it is because American society is unusually violent. Or its racial divisions have frayed the bonds of society. Or its citizens lack proper mental care under a health care system that draws frequent derision abroad.



These explanations share one thing in common: Though seemingly sensible, all have been debunked by research on shootings elsewhere in the world. Instead, an ever-growing body of research consistently reaches the same conclusion.



The only variable that can explain the high rate of mass shootings in America is its astronomical number of guns.<snip>
Rather, they found, in data that has since been repeatedly confirmed, that American crime is simply more lethal. A New Yorker is just as likely to be robbed as a Londoner, for instance, but the New Yorker is 54 times more likely to be killed in the process.



They concluded that the discrepancy, like so many other anomalies of American violence, came down to guns.

www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/world/americas/mass-shootings-us-international.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

[zibazinski]

Nov 9, 2018 13:42:50 GMT -5 dezii said:

Nov 9, 2018 8:53:10 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Because we can’t put people in mental institutions to get the help they need. They have “rights.” So they wander the streets being victimized and causing issues. I believe this guy was “passed” by doctors or psychologists, I could be wrong, so it was missed anyway. If you want a gun you can get a gun. The problem is with the person. I grew up with unlocked guns in the home. Bullied at school, not well treated at home. Never once did I think of shooting anyone. Now I could do it if threatened and not think twice about it. But the world is different.

I thought I read that there were off duty police officers present, probably young ones...Surprised they were not armed...where I came from...have a cop for a cousin...he always was armed when off duty...believe it was mandated...Even in a place that served liquor they would be covered...off duty or on duty...

Any comments?

I believe it’s the rules for some police but not all. It could vary by county as well.