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Originally Posted by tw
Charted were gun ownership and violent deaths. A major peak occured in the post civil war decade. Another peak coincided with increased gun ownership during prohibition.
If more guns means safer streets, then why did sharp increases in murders occur when gun ownership increased? According to claims made here by others, then more guns should mean decreased violent deaths. That trend was not only demonstrated in America. Same trend was demonstrated in other nations.
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But the events during these times were the main reason that there was an increase in violent deaths. During the Reconstruction, there was great animosity towards the Radical Republicans, and all northerners really. Its still there in the south to some extent. The former confederates had been defeated, but they didn't want to be conquered. They rebelled against the north. The KKK was began to repel the Radical Republicans, and those were their main target. After Reconstruction the violence started to end, the north was no longer constantly agitating the former Confederate states, and those states had gained back much of the freedom they had lost because of their defeat.
During prohibition the amount of illegal activity increased because people all over the country were rebelling against the prohibition law. The mafia was profiting greatly by smuggling in booze and were fighting over territory.
There is normally a reason that violent crime increases, and it is not the availabilty of guns that makes people violent. They must feel a need or want for a gun, they plan on using it and therefore seek out aquiring one, either legally or illegally. If they plan on using the gun for an illegal activity they will most likely aquire the gun through illegal means, harder for the weapon to be traced back to them.