The Study is the Actual Crime
In June of 2021, on a news analysis program, John Kennedy, Sr. US Senator for Louisiana said, “When a cop shoots a criminal, it's the cop's fault. When a criminal shoots a cop it's the gun's fault.” This certainly seems to be a repeated allegation by many in legacy media and progressive politics. It’s often hard to imagine, how penalties for serious atrocities are minimized in leftist-run cities where elected prosecutors are intentionally soft on crime.
The Guardian produced a news story on criminality, mostly gun violence or shootings in an article entitled, “Almost 8,000 US shootings attributed to unseasonable heat – study”. Naturally, as I have written about many times, research papers written on the backs of a supposed climate crisis are quite common – even though the theory has never been proven. This research was conducted by the American Medical Association and appears as a peer-reviewed study in their Medical Journal. For some reason, the organization’s name is never mentioned in the Guardian story.
The article initially states, “The researchers said the work suggested the climate crisis could be contributing to increased gun violence by pushing temperatures beyond the normal ranges”. This is quite a remarkable statement since the temperatures from the end of 1998 through to the end of 2015 were relatively stable, steady, or constant while the temperatures from 2016 through to the present time, have actually declined.
It is difficult to find actual total shootings or murder statistics for cities in the USA since they prefer murder rate or crime rate, but it is without a doubt that New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles would lead in the statistics relative to the total volume. In any event, the murder rate (murders per capita) in order, from least to most is as follows:
Memphis, Tennessee
St. Louis, Missouri
Oakland, California
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Baltimore, Maryland
New Orleans, Louisiana
Detroit, Michigan
Lubbock, Texas
Chicago, Illinois
Stockton, California
The reality here is that if hot temperatures, irrespective of the reason, increased the number of murders and murder rate, Phoenix, Arizona would be permanently on the very top of the list, followed closely by Miami, Florida.
In a rather puerile statement, the article cites, “Shootings were already known to peak in summer when people are outside more . . . ” it goes on further to say, “. . . and when heat can increase aggression. But the new research took account of the season and showed that above-average temperatures at any time of year increased the risk of shootings.” This is essentially saying when people are out and about and interactions increase the risks of shootings – well duh!
When an extraneous statement like, “Gun violence disproportionately affects the neighborhoods most impacted by segregation and long-term disinvestment”, arrives, one can clearly recognize the progressively liberal mantra associated with their constant push for diversity, inclusion, and equity (DIE), even though it is immaterial to the study. Obviously, progressives want to turn the attention for violence away from their “defund the police” initiative, as well as Antifa riots, and leftist prosecutors who are irrationally benign on all crime - even with the oft-repeat offenders.
Fundamentally, this study concludes that in warmer weather, there is more activity by people outdoors, and thus, greater anger and violent interactions may have the potential to develop - nothing more. The reason the American Medical Association’s name does not appear in the study or in this article is assuredly out of comprehensive embarrassment.