List of Violence linked Drugs Brand Names: Warning ID: 63 Prozac, Paxil, Seroxat, Zoloft, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Serzone, Remeron Generic Names:  Mirtazapine, Fluoxetine, Sertraline, Paroxetine, Fluvoxamine, Citalopram, Escitalopram, Bupropion, Venlafaxine, Nefazodone Drug Class: Antidepressant Ages: Children (under 18), Adults (18 and older) Date Issued: March 22, 2004   Country: United States Side Effects: Suicide Risk, Suicide Attempts, Suicide, Suicidal, Suicidal Ideation, Suicidal Behavior, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Insomnia, Disturbed Sleep, Agitation, Irritability, Aggression, Violence, Hostility, Impulsivity, Akathisia, Mania Summary: The FDA asked drug companies to add new warnings on 10 widely used antidepressants. It said patients who used Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Paxil (paroxetine), Luvox (fluvoxamine), Celexa (citalopram), Lexapro (escitalopram), Wellbutrin (bupropion), Effexor (venlafaxine), Serzone (nefazodone), and Remeron (mirtazapine) should be closely monitored for possible suicidal behavior and anxiety, especially when the patient first begins taking the drugs or changes doses. It also said, "Anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, impulsivity, akathisia [severe restlessness], hypomania [abnormal excitement, mild mania] and mania, have been reported in adult and pediatric patients being treated with antidepressants... ." Source: "Worsening Depression and Suicidality in Patients Being Treated with Antidepressant Medications," US Food and Drug Administration Public Health Advisory, March 22, 2004. Reference -- http://www.cchrint.org/psychdrugdangers/

Gun Laws in need of enforcement If existing criminal sanctions under long-standing federal law were enforced, here is what would happen to a typical interstate trafficker, whom I will call “Schumer’s gunrunner.”  This habitual criminal is a felon with multiple convictions, a drug user and a fugitive from justice. His “customers” are likewise convicted felons in the illegal drug trade; two are fugitives; and all are from out of state. Schumer’s gunrunner takes orders for firearms from his “customers”—five specific handgun models, one each for his separate criminal buyers.  Schumer’s gunrunner drives to another state, enters the shop of a federally licensed dealer and settles on the five handguns he wants. He fills out the obligatory 4473 and falsely answers a list of questions, swearing under penalty of law that he is the lawful purchaser and that he is not prohibited from gun possession. With his fake ID, he is cleared by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). On the way back to New York, Schumer’s gunrunner stops off to visit a fellow criminal who fences stolen guns and buys a flashy, engraved 1911—with the serial number obliterated—for himself. Schumer’s gunrunner then returns to New York City and transfers his five handguns to his drug dealer “customers,” knowing the guns will be used in crimes of violence involving the drug trade. 

So, let’s look at what the gun-ban crowd describes as “weak federal laws,” and how they apply. They are found in the U.S. Code, Title 18, under a chapter titled firearms. I’ll total the penalties under what the gun-ban crowd calls “weak” federal laws, tabulating as we go along. Call it the Federal Law Tab. For starters, it’s a federal felony for a resident of one state to acquire a firearm in another state, except under stringent dealer requirements. Private interstate sales between individuals trading in any firearm is illegal (Sec. 922(a)(3)). The penalty: five years in prison on each count. Since Schumer’s gunrunner sells his five guns to five different individuals, each transaction involved is counted so the gunrunner’s five guns apply in every violation. Here it adds up to 25 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 25 years. It is a federal felony for “any person” to “transfer, sell, trade, give, transport or deliver any firearm to any person” who the person knows, or has reason to know, does not reside in the same state (Sec. 922(a)(5)). The penalty: five years in prison on each count. Five guns: 25 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 50 years.  If an out-of-state resident buys from a dealer and makes a false or fictitious statement in purchasing a firearm, or exhibits false identification, those acts are federal felonies, five years on each count (Sec. 922(a)(6)). Falsely filling in the Form 4473 is a crime punishable by 10 years in prison per count. Since Schumer’s gunrunner used fraudulent identification and lied, and swore falsely on his 4473s, three separate crimes occurred under this section. Five guns: 150 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 200 years.  It is a federal felony for a convicted felon to buy, receive or transport or possess any firearm or ammunition. Under Sec. 922(g)(1), each action mentioned—purchase, receipt, transporting or possession—is a 10-year federal felony. Possession means even touching a gun. If applied just to the five guns, that’s 50 years in prison. Receiving the guns from the dealer amounts to 50 years in prison. Transporting the guns to New York City is a 50-year prison sentence. These 922(g)(1) crimes call for 150 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 350 years. The exact same penalties apply for the same acts committed by a fugitive from justice (Sec. 922(g)(2)). Since Schumer’s gunrunner is a fugitive, that’s another 150 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 500 years. Here alone, he is subject to 75 years with no hope of getting back on the street. The same penalties apply to known drug users (Sec. 922(g)(3)). Schumer’s gunrunner is a drug user, so he is subject to another 150 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 650 years. Since he has more than three felony convictions, Schumer’s gunrunner is subject to penalties in Sec. 924(e)(1), which provides for a 15-year sentence on each count, mandatory. Here alone, he is subject to 75 years with no hope of getting back on the street. Federal Law Tab: 725 years.  In completing transactions with his “buyers” in New York City, he commits another host of federal crimes

Federal Law Grand Total: 1,020 years. If a violator of the Gun Control Act can be shown as intending to commit a state or federal felony involving the firearm, he has committed an additional federal felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison on each count (Sec. 924(b)). Five guns: 50 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 775 years.  Under Sec. 924(h), “Whoever knowingly transfers a firearm, knowing that such firearm will be used to commit a crime of violence ... or drug trafficking crime ... shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years.” Schumer’s gunrunner knows his “customers” are violent drug dealers or drug users. Five guns: 50 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 825 years.  It is a federal felony for any individual to sell or give a firearm or ammunition to a convicted felon (Sec. 922(d)(1)). The penalty: 10 years in prison on each count. Schumer’s gunrunner knows his “customers” are convicted felons. Five guns: 50 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 875 years.  It is a federal felony for any individual to sell, or give a firearm or ammunition to a fugitive from justice (Sec. 922(d)(2)). The penalty: 10 years in prison on each count. Two of his customers are fugitives: 20 years in prison. Federal Law Tab: 895 years. It is a federal felony for any individual to sell, or give a firearm or ammunition to a person unlawfully using or addicted to a controlled substance (Sec. 922(d)(3)). The penalty: 10 years in prison on each count. All of his customers are drug users: 50 years in prison.  Federal Law Tab: 945 years.  If any violator of the Gun Control Act provisions can be shown as intending to commit a state or federal felony involving a firearm, that individual has committed an additional federal felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison on each count (Sec. 924(b)). So, here again, Schumer’s gunrunner is subject to multiple counts of 10-year federal felonies with his five guns, which will be used in numerous crimes by his customers, including mere possession by them as prohibited persons, and mere possession is an illegal act under New York law. This total would be, at the very least, another 50 years in prison. So far the Federal Law Tab totals 995 years.  But there is more. 18 U.S.C. § 922(i) criminalizes shipment or transport of stolen firearms and calls for a 10-year prison term. Federal Law Tab: 1,005 years. And 18 U.S.C. § 922(j) covers possession of a stolen firearm and provides a 10-year prison sentence. Federal Law Tab: 1,015 years. And there is the little matter of the scraped off serial number. 18 U.S.C. § 922(k) covers possession, receipt, shipment, or interstate transport of a firearm with an altered or obliterated serial number. Conviction brings five years in prison. Federal Law Grand Total: 1,020 years. 

Victims of violent crimes, 1996–2012 (rate per 100,000 population)5 http://www.aic.gov.au/statistics/violent%20crime.html

Weapon use in homicide incidents by year, 1989–90 to 2011–12 (%)

Relative use of knife and firearm to commit homicide, from 1989-90 to 2006-07 (percent)