OKC has already exceeded homicide total from 2011

[Drake]

It is truly sad to see OKC spiral downward with their rampant crime. OKC was placed on the top ten list for violent crimes along with Houston and Atlanta. "I realize crime is everywhere," but OKC seems to have lost it's moral compass. Everyday, you hear of another dead body found in OKC area. We can blame it on society, violence on TV upbring etc... but I feel it just comes down to a lack of morals, integrity and bad character. OKC is full of meth labs, high DWI rates. Everytime I visit OKC it seems to be a more calluosed (sp?) town leading to lawlessness. Hell even Dallas "did not" make the list of top ten violent cities. Does anyone perceive that OKC is becoming a less civilized town?

Your act is tiresome and played

[RodH]

That's a load of hogwash. Open carry (or closed carry for that matter) implies nothing of the sort. It does imply that a person has a right to defend themselves from a threat of mortal danger. Its doesn't give a person the right to play cop or to "terminate life when they deem appropriate".

You might read up on the law if you want to speak intelligently about it. Here's a good place to start.
http://www.ok.gov/osbi/documents/SDA...k_NOV_2012.pdf

I do not wish to debate the merits of open or closed carry other than to state that both suggest the efficacy of lethal violence or the threat of is a solution to certain problems that one may encounter in life. The definition of pistol found in the law you cited indicates that. Hopefully, those who chose to "carry" will know when it is appropriate to use.

Pistol means any derringer, revolver or semiautomatic firearm which:
a. has an overall length of less that sixteen (16) inches,
b. is capable of discharging a projectile composed of any material which may reasonably be expected to be able to cause lethal injury
c. is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand, and
d. uses either gunpowder, gas or any means of rocket propulsion to discharge the projectile.

[ljbab728]

does anyone perceive that okc is becoming a less civilized town?

no

[catch22]

Does anyone perceive that OKC is becoming a less civilized town?

Quite the opposite.

[soonerguru]

It is truly sad to see OKC spiral downward with their rampant crime. OKC was placed on the top ten list for violent crimes along with Houston and Atlanta. "I realize crime is everywhere," but OKC seems to have lost it's moral compass. Everyday, you hear of another dead body found in OKC area. We can blame it on society, violence on TV upbring etc... but I feel it just comes down to a lack of morals, integrity and bad character. OKC is full of meth labs, high DWI rates. Everytime I visit OKC it seems to be a more calluosed (sp?) town leading to lawlessness. Hell even Dallas "did not" make the list of top ten violent cities. Does anyone perceive that OKC is becoming a less civilized town?

This is completely melodramatic and unenlightening. Please try to provide some degree of insight instead of simply ranting and raving about a topic you've clearly not given any depth of thought.

[progressiveboy]

This is completely melodramatic and unenlightening. Please try to provide some degree of insight instead of simply ranting and raving about a topic you've clearly not given any depth of thought.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Lets start with the link below. This does provide some degree of insight and it speaks for itself. I stand by my previous statement!






Police report 94th homicide in Oklahoma City this year | NewsOK.com

[progressiveboy]

Your act is tiresome and played

See below.



Oklahoma City ranks high in violent cities list - Oklahoma City - OKC - KOCO.com

[OKCTalker]

The murder rate is one metric among thousands, and you can't simply say that Oklahoma City is a good city/bad city based upon any one of them. It's not that simple.

It's my home, I like it here and I'm staying, and if you want to know why, pull up a chair because it will take awhile to explain.

[soonerguru]

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Lets start with the link below. This does provide some degree of insight and it speaks for itself. I stand by my previous statement!





Police report 94th homicide in Oklahoma City this year | NewsOK.com

I've read the link. I've also engaged in discussion throughout this thread. Trying to determine spikes in homicide is sometimes a nuanced and challenging thing. It's why we've been discussing this topic for weeks / months. What factors in your opinion have led to this spike in homicide in OKC in 2012? The link you provide offers no answers.

[Bellaboo]

One thing to consider is that our economy is better than most. We've had an influx of job seeking individuals coming from other parts of the country looking for work. Maybe some of these folks have been a little undesirable...? Just guessing.

[MadMonk]

I do not wish to debate the merits of open or closed carry other than to state that both suggest the efficacy of lethal violence or the threat of is a solution to certain problems that one may encounter in life. The definition of pistol found in the law you cited indicates that. Hopefully, those who chose to "carry" will know when it is appropriate to use.

I don't blame you for being wary of defending your position but, you should at least be intellectually honest and be more specific than "certain problems that one may encounter in life". The law is designed and intended for people to be able to protect themselves or their immediate family from imminent lethal threats. No other use in any other situations are legally authorized. You know this and anyone who lawfully carries is well aware of this. This thread is trying to establish that lethal violence is increasing in our city, and I would wager that most of that is not from someone who is legally authorized to carry. You suggest defending yourself with a gun is not a solution, but I know of no solution that is more effective in a situation where someone points a weapon at you or your family and starts pulling the trigger.

More on topic, can anyone provide a link with details of this year's homicides? How many are gun-related and not? How many were done by legal carriers? The devil is in the details.

I'm sure not all the details are available in an ongoing investigation though.

[soonerguru]

I don't blame you for being wary of defending your position but, you should at least be intellectually honest and be more specific than "certain problems that one may encounter in life". The law is designed and intended for people to be able to protect themselves or their immediate family from imminent lethal threats. No other use in any other situations are legally authorized. You know this and anyone who lawfully carries is well aware of this. This thread is trying to establish that lethal violence is increasing in our city, and I would wager that most of that is not from someone who is legally authorized to carry. You suggest defending yourself with a gun is not a solution, but I know of no solution that is more effective in a situation where someone points a weapon at you or your family and starts pulling the trigger.

More on topic, can anyone provide a link with details of this year's homicides? How many are gun-related and not? How many were done by legal carriers? The devil is in the details.

I'm sure not all the details are available in an ongoing investigation though.

Can we move on from this topic in this thread? Unless a correlation can be provided that legal carry has increased homicides, we should drop it. I'm not fond of the new law myself, but it obviously has had no impact on this year's spike in homicides.

[LakeEffect]

Can we move on from this topic in this thread? Unless a correlation can be provided that legal carry has increased homicides, we should drop it. I'm not fond of the new law myself, but it obviously has had no impact on this year's spike in homicides.

No impact whatsoever.

And to someone another question that was asked - I do not believe we've had a sudden influence of "bad" people moving here and looking for work. I think many of these are gang/drug related in some way, and being at the crossroads of multiple long-distance interstate highways makes us a target for drug-related violence. An additional portion is a lot of murder/suicide and domestic situations. I'd posit that a lot of that is based on low educational attainment, poverty and other personal and societal issues. No one has been immune to the violence, from unborn children to toddlers, from road rage wackos to human trafficking gang enforcers... it's a devil of an issue.

[Bellaboo]

Okay, maybe this is why there has been a spike -

It's a known fact that there is more violent crime in the summer months than the winter months. And it's been a long hot year.

[LakeEffect]

Okay, maybe this is why there has been a spike -

It's a known fact that there is more violent crime in the summer months than the winter months. And it's been a long hot year.

KOCO posted a month-by-month count of homicides, and July and August were down months... so, nope, no special weather correlation. March and September were the highest... Number of homicides per month in Oklahoma City | KOCO Home - OKC