5 Things Obama Didn’t Mention When He Blamed America for the Charleston Shooting

At a predominately African American church in Charleston on Wednesday night, a South Carolina man named Dylann Storm Roof entered and later opened fire on the church attendants.

The horrific mass shooting left nine people dead and the country shaken and searching for answers.

President Obama delivered a speech addressing the nation on the tragic shooting that tilted towards condemnation of the U.S.’ gun culture. At one point in the speech, he specifically blamed America for giving rise to the tragic shooting:

But let’s be clear: At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn’t happen in other places with this kind of frequency.

Feeding into the public perception that gun violence and mass shootings are exploding in frequency is both the selective politicization of random events of gun violence, and media omission of basic statistics that give fuller context.

There are a number of stark facts that contradict this political narrative.

3. Gun Violence is Down. Way, Way Down.

4. Gun Violence per 100,000.

5. U.S. Homicide Rate Does Not Reflect Its High Gun Ownership in Global Context.

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