Philadelphia's murder rate increased by almost 8 percent in 2000 over the previous year's deadly toll, and the primary cause, according to Police Commissioner John F. Timoney, is easy access to firearms. "Philadelphia will always have an inordinately high homicide rate simply because of the availability of guns," the commissioner said in an interview. "It's not an accident that, year after year, Philadelphia, out of the top 10 cities, has the highest proportion of gun... (GunPolicy.org)