Massachusetts Gun Violence Up Despite Tougher Laws on Firearms
Some blame out-of-state guns brought from New Hampshire and Maine.
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Despite it's relatively strong gun laws, Massachusetts has seen a rise in the number of firearm-related injuries over the past decade, according to the Boston Globe.
In particular, murders involving guns have gone up (188 percent), but so have aggravated assaults (26.7 percent), armed robberies (20.7 percent) using guns. The leap in these types of crime has occurred even as Massachusetts tightened its gun laws in 1998, including a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons, tougher licensing requirements and stricter rules on how guns are stored.
Some are attributing the rise to the high number of guns brought in from out of state, especially from New Hampshire and Maine, which don't require a permit to buy a gun.
"Those states alone accounted for nearly one-third of the 669 crime guns traced to states outside of Massachusetts," the Globe writes.
But despite the rise in gun-related injuries, Massachusetts still had the second-lowest rate of firearm deaths in the country. Twice as many happen in New Hampshire and three times as many happen in Maine, according to the Globe report.
North Andover had 789 gun licenses last year, 28.7 per 1,000 people -- fewer than many other communities in the area. While there hunting activity in town, North Andover has seen very little gun violence in the past few years.
Maria Rigazio-Rea
7:04 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Vermont, NH, and Maine do not require a license to purchase or own a gun if you are a resident of those states. NH, and Maine do require an out of state license to purchase a gun. NH and Maine also require a license to conceal carry. There is no control over illegal guns, and my thoughts are that most crime is committed with an unregistered illegal gun.
Bryan McGonigle2
9:30 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I blame the criminals. We've got to get criminals to commit fewer crimes! Maybe NH and Maine could send us more law-abiding criminals or law-abiding guns.
I could also blame the law since guns have been brought into Mass from these states before and after the law was passed. And other states have probably passed gun laws. So the only difference presented is that a law was passed.
Maria Rigazio-Rea
9:37 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
As a Massachusetts resident, If I bought a gun in Maine or NH from a reputable dealer, it would have to be sent to a dealer in Massachusetts and await a background check before I can receive it. So once again, if there are more crimes with guns occurring in Massachusetts, one has to ask are they legal? and how do you stop that from happening? My thought is if there were more jobs and a healthy middle class there would not be this increase in robberies...Think back to the great depression and all the famous criminals that sprang from that era. Bonnie and Clyde...Cappone, etc ect...Hard times cause desperate people to act desperate.
Michael Quinlan
2:09 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
You can more likely 'stop that from happening' by having fewer criminals on the street.