Study: Gun homicides, violence down sharply in past 20 years

(CNN) -- Gun-related homicides and crime are "strikingly" down from 20 years ago, despite the American public's belief that firearm crime is on the upswing, a new study said Wednesday.

Looking back 50 years, a Pew Research Center study found U.S. gun homicides rose in the 1960s, gained in the 1970s, peaked in the 1980s and the early 1990s, and then plunged and leveled out the past 20 years.

So is this because we have less guns year after year (worn out, dropped in lakes, melted into car frames) or is it possible that there is no direct correlation between number of guns and gun crime?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/08/us/study- ... index.html

In fact, gun-related homicide rates in the late 2000s were "equal to those not seen since the early 1960s," the study found.

Explanations for the drops the past 20 years aren't clear, the study said.

And how about all those violent movies? And those violent video games?

Maybe it is something else after all?

The number of individuals owning guns has dropped considerably over the last 20 years as well. Correlation?

The remaining, mainly Republican gun owners are more responsible than the Democrat, former gun owners like Jared Loughner and the Aurora shooter?

The number of mass shootings have not gone down, just overall homicides in general. Besides everyone knows that the Aurora shooter as well as Lanza were Republicans.

Something the Dog Said wrote: The number of individuals owning guns has dropped considerably over the last 20 years as well. Correlation?

And how do we know this? Is there a national gun registry? I've had several guns for 20+ years that nobody but my family knows I have.

I do believe that the decline in gun ownership by Democrats has a direct correlation to the drop in gun homicides. Gun ownership by conservatives has increased.

Got a source for that claim Arlen? I don't recall when I bought my gun being asked if I was liberal or conservative.

Gun ownership polling? How many people flat out lie about owning guns? Especially if they live in blue anti-gun States? All of mine fell out of the boat when I was duck hunting at Jefferson Lake.

Why would you have to lie.....it's quite legal to own a gun in Colorado.