After a bloody weekend of gang violence in Philadelphia and other Democratic cities around the country, leftist media activists are using the carnage as a way to push for new gun control legislation in Washington D.C.
As a way to bolster their narrative, media figures are classifying typical street violence as mass shootings, implying they happened in a targeted fashion at a school or place of worship.
A mass shooting in Philadelphia left at least three people dead and no less than 11 wounded, police said, in the latest case of gun violence in the United States https://t.co/XkPtWp0VuD pic.twitter.com/ur9zS2ZgnP
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 6, 2022
At least nine people were killed and dozens more injured in mass shootings over the weekend across the U.S. in:
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 6, 2022
— Philadelphia
— Phoenix
— Chattanooga, Tennessee
— Chester, Virginia
— Summerton, South Carolina https://t.co/El4TPj56la
So what exactly is a "mass shooting?" As the University of Pennsylvania and others point out, the definition is arbitrary.
In the United States, there are several different, but common, definitions of mass shootings. The Congressional Research Service defines mass shootings, as multiple, firearm, homicide incidents, involving 4 or more victims at one or more locations close to one another. The FBI definition is essentially the same. Often there is a distinction made between private and public mass shootings (e.g., a school, place of worship, or a business establishment). Mass shootings undertaken by foreign terrorists are not included, no matter how many people die or where the shooting occurs.
These formulations are certainly workable, but the threshold of 4 or more deaths is arbitrary. There are also important exclusions. For example, if 10 people are shot but only 2 dies, the incident is not a mass shooting. Homicides by other means also are not counted. If 5 people are purposely run down and killed by an individual driving motor vehicle, the deaths do not count because a firearm is not involved. There also are inclusions that can seem curious because the motives of perpetrators are not considered when defining a mass shooting.
For example, multiple homicides that result from an armed robbery gone bad are included. So are multiple homicides that result from turf wars between rival drug gangs. The heterogeneous nature of mass shootings needs to be unpacked as well. There are important differences between mass shootings in schools, places of worship, business establishments, outdoor rock concerts, private residences, and other settings. At the very least, there is reason to suspect that each is characterized by different kinds of motives.
So this "mass shooting" was actually the beginnings of a fucking riot that got hot with gunfire.
— RBe (@RBPundit) June 6, 2022
This is supposed to get me to give up my guns?
Are Democrats INSANE? https://t.co/kjj0IiTy13
There’s a difference between a mass shooting & a shootout between ops. The difference matters b/c one is some crazy weirdo sh*t the other is a socioeconomic issue that makes up the overwhelming majority of gun homicides & if addressed would cause gun violence numbers to plummet
— Colion Noir (@MrColionNoir) June 5, 2022
So, in a typical weekend gang bangers shot at each other with no regard for bystanders, but politicians will argue this is your fault and to give up your rights. No thanks.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) June 6, 2022
Fun at what is suddenly classified as a mass shooting. https://t.co/DPUUPNgSS2
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) June 6, 2022
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