Whenever mainstream outlets use the phrase “surge in gun violence” or “surge of gun violence” you can be relatively assured that they are arguing via left-wing meme rather than any useful statistic.
Most importantly, when someone hears ‘gun violence’ they are likely thinking criminal use of a gun, when that phrase is deliberately vague so as to overinclude many gun uses that most readers would not intend, such as suicides, defensive gun uses, and accidental discharges.
But this phrase, ‘surge in gun violence’ is so commonplace that it appears in many mainstream outlets, even when they provide no evidence for the statistical rise in violence, no theory as to why it is rising, and no causal allegation of any kind. In deciphering the liberal journalist’s mind guns just decide to occasionally, en masse, get rowdy and start shooting irresponsibly.
Let’s take some recent examples:
May 31, 2021 – Scott Wilson – The Washington Post
Headline: “Anarchists and an increase in violent crime hijack Portland’s social justice movement”
“‘The work of this office is really ramping up to handle the surge in gun violence,’ Schmidt said.”