A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that a majority of Americans
believe that gun violence is greater than ever. The problem with that view is that the
opposite is true. Violent gun crime has dropped dramatically in the past two decades.

The Pew report explains that: “National rates of gun homicide and other violent
gun crimes are strikingly lower now than during their peak in the mid-1990s, paralleling
a general decline in violent crime.” Government statistics show that the rate of nonfatal
violent gun crime victimization dropped 75 percent in the past 20 years.

The gun homicide rate dropped 49 percent in that same period.

Most Americans are unaware of this drop in gun crime. According to the Pew
survey, 56 percent of Americans believe gun crime is worse than it was 20 years ago. If
you add in those people who believe it has stayed the same, then you have 84 percent
who believe it has either gone up or stayed the same. Only 12 percent have the correct
view: that gun violence has decreased the last 20 years.

Let’s put it another way. At a time when the nation was having a debate about
guns and gun control, more than 8 out of 10 Americans had a perspective about gun
violence that was completely opposite of the true reality. I think we all know why the
public perception is incorrect. The news media focus our attention on crimes, especially
gun crimes. This has been true for some time, but was especially true since the shooting
in Newtown, Connecticut.

The Pew Research report also puts these mass shootings in context. “According to
a Bureau of Justice Statistics review, homicides that claimed at least three lives accounted
for less the 1 percent of all homicide deaths from 1980 to 2008.” In other words, they are
very rare, but of course get lots of media attention when they occur.

This latest survey once again is a reminder that public opinion can often be
wrong, and that’s why we need accurate statistics before we enact government policies.