Got Gun?

There is a constant rise in young men losing their lives within their neighborhoods. Richmond, Oakland, and San Francisco has been known for the highest crime rate in the state. Although these cities have nice neighborhoods, there are the low income neighborhoods that they are known for. On a given year the homicide rate can range from 100-150 a year. So what is the issue within these low income neighborhoods? The answer is the easy access to a gun. Everyone from the grandparents to the grandchildren are liable to have a gun. The major reason is because they do not have to go to a gun store, which require one to be a certain age and to not have a record. Instead they are going to people within the neighborhoods that are selling the guns to anyone who has the cash. According to Claudia Rowe, "Easy to get guns" article,"You can pretty much tell where to get a gun if you want one, said Lorenzo Miller, 18, who believes his younger brother got the semiautomatic from a peer. Guns being brought to school? It gets to a point where it's not even surprising." If we could figure out how stop the black market from selling guns, then we could could save a number of lives. How did you get you gun?

More and More Liquor stores

While riding around a number of low income neighborhoods, I have noticed the number of liquor stores (also known as smoke shops) present compared to the suburban neighborhoods. Could this be one factor for high crime rates? There is almost a liquor store on every corner within these neighborhoods, but in the suburban communities they are not any. Suburban neighborhoods have more of grocery stores. So what is the reason behind that? Many residents of low income neighborhoods believe that this is one of the factors for high crime rates. According to Anyi Howell, author of “Why so many liquor stores,” states “Some of these stores add to community problems such as public drunkenness and domestic violence with liquor discounts and lax rules that make it easy to get drunk and get alcohol without being ID'd. And if you do get ID'd, fret not -- just walk down the block.” On the other hand, although there are many liquor stores within these communities, some would say that is not a factor for high crime rate. No one makes people go into the store and buy alcohol or other substances. What about those that stay in the neighborhood that is not affected by the liquor stores. However, by having many liquor stores in these communities instead of having more schools, suggest school is last and making money off the community by any means is first. What if there weren’t any liquor stores in these communities? Instead there should be more schools, grocery stores like the suburban neighborhoods. Would that make a difference on how people perceive low income neighborhoods? Would it decrease the high crime rate?