Cold weather causes murder - Gun Control - Obama

[Bluegrasscard]

A lot of things correlate. But is there a cause-effect relationship?

 

In the movie Freakonomics (recommended) they show that it was believed that somehow ice cream was related to polio since ice cream sales and polio cases had almost the same curve. Luckily they figured it out or else we may not have our BR31s!

[theguru]

A lot of things correlate. But is there a cause-effect relationship?

 

In the movie Freakonomics (recommended) they show that it was believed that somehow ice cream was related to polio since ice cream sales and polio cases had almost the same curve. Luckily they figured it out or else we may not have our BR31s!

 

Same thing with ice cream and murder.

[ThrillVille Cardinal51]

Same thing with ice cream and murder.

 

Only wackos eat ice cream in cold weather.

[Habib]

I imagine a more interesting comparison would be comparing Chicago's homicide rates before and after gun law changes. That could control for a lot of the idiosyncrasies among different cities, assuming not a lot else changed.

[coldweatherfan]

As a side note, of course I am kidding about cold weather causing murder and it becomes confusing because I think there is a very strong correlation (looking for the right word here) between warm weather and murder.

 

Obviously this all has little or nothing to do with cold weather.

 

Thanks. I hate getting blamed for stuff.

[coldweatherfan]

Only wackos eat ice cream in cold weather.

 

Hey. We eat it year round, we just eat more when it's warm.

[sportsfan41]

As a side note, of course I am kidding about cold weather causing murder and it becomes confusing because I think there is a very strong correlation (looking for the right word here) between warm weather and murder.

 

Obviously this all has little or nothing to do with cold weather.

 

Warm weather/Ice cream theory, one of my favorite criminal justice studies/findings. Often times see a sharp increase in violent crimes can be seen when ice cream sales increase... People all hopped up ice cream with sprinkles and what not can really getting out of control during the summer months.

[All Tell]

Only wackos eat ice cream in cold weather.

 

Guilty

[PurplePride92]

I was speaking in general terms. As to your question that is very difficult because not only are demographics, gun laws and popluation a factor, I think population density is a huge factor in these things. It suggests just how urban an environment may be which correlates with gang activity. For example the population denisty of Houston is 3,500/SqMi which is similar to cities like Toledo OH and Omaha NE. Chicago's density is 11,800/SqMi and only compares to a few cities, Philadelphia (411 murders in 12) and Miami (Murder rate of 16.8/100k, 2011 #'s couldn't find 2012) which are both similar to Chicago. Florida has the most hands off gun laws as anywhere in the country and their biggest city has murder rates similar to Chicago. Houston was picked for a very specific reason, it's a huge city population wise (4th biggest) and closest to Chicago but it is very spread out. It's over twice as big as Chicago in land area even though it has fewer people which indicates to me it's not as prone to gang violence. Way to many factors to put into a chart and that be used as conclusive evidence on either side of the debate.

 

 

 

Houston is HUGE. I'm thinking it's size leads to less gang violence than in places like Chicago. Your posts make a lot of sense.

 

And yes, Houston does have gangs and drug cartels but they've never been anything like what it is or has been in Chicago, LA, Miami, etc. I've never been scared in Houston. I was very aware of my surroundings when I was in Chicago. Wore neutral colors, inside after dark, no wrong turns.....Houston is so big you'd never find your enemy to kill him.

[Jumper_Dad]

Houston is HUGE. I'm thinking it's size leads to less gang violence than in places like Chicago. Your posts make a lot of sense.

 

And yes, Houston does have gangs and drug cartels but they've never been anything like what it is or has been in Chicago, LA, Miami, etc. I've never been scared in Houston. I was very aware of my surroundings when I was in Chicago. Wore neutral colors, inside after dark, no wrong turns.....Houston is so big you'd never find your enemy to kill him.

On a side note Houston is the most boring big city that I have ever been in, surprised there aren't more murders just out of boredom!

[doomer]

:popcorn:

 

Good discussion. The density factor definitely makes sense as it is harder to hit someone farther away. Additional information, such as police presence, number of people on government assistance. And is much of the crime, criminal on criminal so to speak, or domestic or drive-by, etc.....I would be interested in how the murders are characterized.

 

Maybe it IS cabin fever.

[PurplePride92]

On a side note Houston is the most boring big city that I have ever been in, surprised there aren't more murders just out of boredom!

 

 

It's not that it is boring. It takes so long to get to the fun it closes an hour after you arrive.

 

I went clubbing in Houston during my sophomore year of college with a good friend from there. We left at 8pm to pick up 3 of his friends. We arrived at the club at midnight. We went to Waffle House at 4am. I got back to my crib at 7am. Never forget it. We spent 6 hours in the car and did nothing more but pick up the crew, hit the club, eat and go home. Ridiculous.