Protests against Gun Violence Held Across U.S

Protests against gun violence and in support of stricter laws regarding access to guns were held across the United States on Tuesday in many major cities. The demonstrations were organized by the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headed by Reverend Jesse Jackson.

According to a press release issued by the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, protests occurred in over twenty-five cities and towns, beginning at noon. The protests were held at such locations as the Duluth, Minnesota City Hall, a gun shop in Maryland, and a bridge over a freeway in Houston. Demonstrations took place in many other cities, including Raleigh, Portland (Maine), Denver, Dallas, Newark, Philadelphia, San Diego, Richmond (California), St. Paul, and Seattle.

These protests were reported on by a number of local media outlets in different parts of the nation. According to a news story from WLS ABC-7 on Tuesday, an anti-gun rally was held outside a plant which makes semi-automatic assault rifles. Reverend Jesse Jackson and family members of gun violence victims were in attendance. A Philadelphia Inquirer news story on Wednesday indicated that about two-hundred people held an anti-gun rally in Philadelphia, with a city councilman pointing out that 272 homicides had occurred there so far this year. Some speakers at the rally partially attributed violence to insufficient job availability.

Another news story, which was issued by WCSH-TV channel six in Portland Maine, stated that thirty-two protesters laid down in Portland's Monument Square. It indicated that the number thirty-two is symbolic of both the number of people killed each day by guns in the United States, as well as the number of victims in the Virginia Tech shootings which occurred last April. The protest was sponsored by the Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence, which calls for Maine gun laws to provide greater regulation.

Supporters of stricter gun laws often compare the amount of gun violence in the United States to that of other countries with tighter gun control. According to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime survey, the number of intentional homicides committed with guns during the year 1999 was 8,259 or 2.97 per 100,000 people in the United States. The rate in Canada, which has stricter gun laws, is lower (0.54 per 100,000 as of 1999), as it is in Germany (0.50 per 100,000) and Ireland (0.32). However, fewer such crimes occur in the U.S. than in many nations, including Mexico (4.54), South Africa (80.05), Paraguay (7.52), and Thailand (35.94).

Sources:
1. Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=922
2. ABC-7 Chicago, http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5611168
3. Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_region/20070829_At_rally__activists_decry_gun_violence_On_the_44th_anniversary_of_Dr__Kings__quot_I_Have_a_Dream_quot__speech__they_gathered_to_assail_illegal_weapons_.html
4. WCSH 6 TV, http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=69718
5. UNODC, http://www.unodc.org/unodc/crime_cicp_survey_seventh.html