[Dismas]

I wouldn't use New York or Chicago as a baseline. Somehow the shootings they've cited, happened in cities/states with the strictest gun laws.

As someone who lived in NYC for over 19 years I can definitely tell you it might be a good baseline; the gun crime around this time of year always spikes and the 4th of July(if you don't know what you're doing/where to be) then it can definitely be a dangerous holiday.

I meant I wouldn't use those cities/states as a baseline for the rest of the country, NYC/Chicago tend to have more extreme laws and violence to match. On average, other cities/states have looser regulations and less violence. A better baseline would be one that falls between the extremes. With fireworks going off, it's not surprising people took advantage of the situation.