Yes Evan and Devin of the Huffington Post, we have a gang problem not a gun problem – and you are blatantly lying.
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According to a CDC report, 80% of gun violence is committed by gangs. (1) However, according to the Huffington Post, this is a big fat lie. (2) The article written by the Huffington Post called “Do we have a gun problem or a gang problem?” begins by claiming there was only 1,824 gang-related killings in 2011. I found the study in question. (3)
They cite a different study in the article, trying to hide the fact that the actual study referred to youth gang homicides only. The Huffington Post article was written in 2014. Although the 2012 figures were available at the time of their article, they cherry picked data from 2011, that did state there were 1,824 gang-related homicides – perpetrated by Juvenile gang members only. The number for adults and youth gang members combined is much, much higher. |
Also, in 2012 we see a huge jump to 2,363 youth gang-related killings. Huffington Post hid this by quoting only the statistic for 2011. (3) This is also the last year they have available for the study, and we can assume that the number of killings has grown since then.
They are even more dishonest about the second study they refer to. They Bureau of Justice’s “Homicide Trends in the USA from 1980 to 2008” report. They say that the report states there was only 1000 gang related homicides in 2008. Wow! 1 million gang members in America and they only killed 1000 people? That’s so believable!
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This immediately contradicts their first study, which states that there were 1,659 juvenile homicides alone in 2008. (Again, we see a stark rise of 30% from 2008 to 2012). Interestingly, the BJS report makes no sense here.
As it does state that there were only 1000 gang related homicides in 2008. However, right below this odd statistic, they state that 87% of all gun homicides were committed by Gangs. The BJS report states that there was about 15,000 total homicides in 2008. Of those approximately 9,500 were committed with guns. Those two statistics put the figure at 8,265, which also means more than 55% of all homicides are committed by gangs. 
You'll notice that the numbers for the Homicides involving guns by circumstance overlap. This is because a gang member killed someone during an argument, for example, so the percentage counts towards both.
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This figure is also backed up by the first study. It stated that juveniles were 24% of gang-related murder victims. 24% of 8265 is 1,981 (and the study claimed there were 1,824 juvenile homicides). So clearly, there was some sort of mistake on this report, because it simply doesn’t add up.
The final study the Huffington Post cites has the same problem as the first study. They only studied juvenile homicides, not juvenile and adult homicides. A total of 856 gang and 2,077 nongang homicides were identified and studied. This is still 41% of all homicides studied.
It’s interesting, that just the youth in 5 major cities had 856 gun related homicides – but according to the Huffington Post there were only 144 more adult and juvenile gang related homicides nationwide! Can anyone possibly believe that there were only 1000 gang homicides? Why would they make such an outrageous claim? Evan and Devin were lying through their teeth when they wrote this article. It’s blatant and criminal fake news.
The final study the Huffington Post cites has the same problem as the first study. They only studied juvenile homicides, not juvenile and adult homicides. A total of 856 gang and 2,077 nongang homicides were identified and studied. This is still 41% of all homicides studied.
It’s interesting, that just the youth in 5 major cities had 856 gun related homicides – but according to the Huffington Post there were only 144 more adult and juvenile gang related homicides nationwide! Can anyone possibly believe that there were only 1000 gang homicides? Why would they make such an outrageous claim? Evan and Devin were lying through their teeth when they wrote this article. It’s blatant and criminal fake news.
Evan DeFilippis
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Devin Hughes
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This isn’t the first time Evan and Devin have been guilty of spreading fake news. In 2016, they attacked John Lott and claimed that he was a fraud. (4) John Lott has a Ph. D in economics from the UCLA. He is 61 years old and has done copious amounts of research on guns during his lifetime. These two con artists hardly deserve a response, but John did respond and he thoroughly refuted their claims. (5)
In their article, they incorrectly describe the National Research Council Report conclusively found that more guns do not lead to more safety. However, the panel did not have any concrete findings at all. They basically ended the report by saying no conclusions could be drawn and they called for more research.
In their article, they incorrectly describe the National Research Council Report conclusively found that more guns do not lead to more safety. However, the panel did not have any concrete findings at all. They basically ended the report by saying no conclusions could be drawn and they called for more research.
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Next they claim that he “fabricated an entire survey on defensive gun use.” In 1997, Lott experienced a disk crash that lost the data for many different papers. There is plenty of evidence that the study occurred, however. Including people who stated that they took part in the survey and research assistants he has records of paying to conduct the survey. He had sent the data to his critics before the crash, but they refused to send it back to him. The survey was redone in 2002 and produced similar results. (6)
The Evan and Devin defuses go on to claim that Lott was “all but excommunicated from academia.” As we all know, conservative voices are suppressed in our now left-wing academia. However, his research has received strong endorsements from many extremely prominent academics. If you would like to know how else they wrongfully smeared this honest hard-working researching please see the sources to read his full rebuttal. (5) |
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In another case of intellectual dishonesty, Evan and Devan wrote an article called: “The myth of a good guy with a gun.” (7) They accuse the researchers Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz of grossly over-estimating the number of crime victims who use a gun in self-defense.
Their National Defense Survey was done in 1993. The survey was already attacked by David Hemenway in 1997 and the researchers wrote very detailed rebuttals to his attack. They ignore the rebuttals and only report on the original attacks by David. They feign ignorance of the rebuttal, but I’m certain they were aware of its existence.
They religiously avoid direct debate with those they criticize, and seldom re-address rebuttals that tear their articles apart. The article I have invalidated, “Do we have a gang problem or a gun problem?” is the prime example of their shameless deceptive tactics. They outright lie about what studies they use and what data those studies provide.
They religiously avoid direct debate with those they criticize, and seldom re-address rebuttals that tear their articles apart. The article I have invalidated, “Do we have a gang problem or a gun problem?” is the prime example of their shameless deceptive tactics. They outright lie about what studies they use and what data those studies provide.
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I am not disagreeing with an opinion and calling it fake news. I am identifying the statements that they have made that are resoundingly false. They have lied in their article, more than 80% of gun homicides are perpetrated by gangs. They tried to claim that the actual number is only 15%! That’s how dishonest these guys are. No one can take anything they write or say seriously after this.
They are also a good example of how the left argues. They constantly personally attack their opponents, instead of their arguments. This is almost always the tactic the left resorts to. This is because data, research, and statistics almost never back up their claims. They have no other option, and their personal attacks don’t hold up to scrutiny either. |
Gangs are clearly the number one problem in America. They are the main perpetrators of gun crimes. And yet, the left wants to take away guns from law abiding citizens, so they can no longer defend themselves from the gangs who will continue to illegally carry guns. However, this isn’t the only problem Gang’s cause. Gangs are the main distributors of drugs. In 2017 there was over 70,000 deaths due to drug overdoses and this is quickly increasing every year. (8)
Many people on the left have stated recently that, “White supremacy is the number one problem facing America.” In 2011, the National Gang Center concluded that 11.5% of gang members are white. White people aren’t the problem. Guns aren’t the problem. Gangs are the problem and there is no refuting that.
1. Donna L. Hoyert, Ph. D, Jianquan Cu, M.D. CDC. “National Vital Statistics Reports.” https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248025.pdf October, 2012.
2. Evan DeFilippis, Devin Hughes. Huffington Post. “Do we have a gun problem or a gang problem?” April, 2014. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/do-we-have-a-gang-problem_b_5071639
3. U.S. Department of Justice. “Juvenile Justice Fact Sheet.” December, 2014. https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248025.pdf
4. Evan & Devin. Think Progress. “The GOP’s favorite gun academic is a fraud.” August, 2016. https://thinkprogress.org/debunking-john-lott-5456e83cf326/
5. John Lott. Crime Research. “Responser to Evan and Devin’s newest claims at think progress.” https://crimeresearch.org/2016/08/response-evan-defilippis-devin-hughes-newest-claims-thinkprogress/ August, 2016.
6. John Lott. Crime Research. “The Bias Against Guns.” https://crimeresearch.org/data/. 2002.
7. Evan & Devan. Slate. “The myth of a good guy with a gun.” https://slate.com/technology/2015/01/good-guy-with-a-gun-myth-guns-increase-the-risk-of-homicide-accidents-suicide.html January, 2015.
8. CDC Wonder. “National Center for Health Statistics” https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates 2017.
9. Bureau of Justice “Homicide Trends in the US, 1980 – 2008”. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf November, 2011
2. Evan DeFilippis, Devin Hughes. Huffington Post. “Do we have a gun problem or a gang problem?” April, 2014. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/do-we-have-a-gang-problem_b_5071639
3. U.S. Department of Justice. “Juvenile Justice Fact Sheet.” December, 2014. https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248025.pdf
4. Evan & Devin. Think Progress. “The GOP’s favorite gun academic is a fraud.” August, 2016. https://thinkprogress.org/debunking-john-lott-5456e83cf326/
5. John Lott. Crime Research. “Responser to Evan and Devin’s newest claims at think progress.” https://crimeresearch.org/2016/08/response-evan-defilippis-devin-hughes-newest-claims-thinkprogress/ August, 2016.
6. John Lott. Crime Research. “The Bias Against Guns.” https://crimeresearch.org/data/. 2002.
7. Evan & Devan. Slate. “The myth of a good guy with a gun.” https://slate.com/technology/2015/01/good-guy-with-a-gun-myth-guns-increase-the-risk-of-homicide-accidents-suicide.html January, 2015.
8. CDC Wonder. “National Center for Health Statistics” https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates 2017.
9. Bureau of Justice “Homicide Trends in the US, 1980 – 2008”. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf November, 2011
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