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Health & Fitness

Gun Laws, Ownership & Citizen Safety (updated)

Three items in the past few days suggest that a legally armed citizenry and permitted concealed carry can help reduce the rate of gun crime.

Three items in the past few days suggest that a legally armed citizenry and permitted concealed carry are two factors in reducing the rate of gun crime.

The New Haven Register reports on this here.  

Study: Murder Rates Higher in States With Restrictive Concealed Carry Laws

First, there is a new study conducted by Quinnipiac University economist Mark Gius and published in the academic journal Applied Economics Letters. This study, covering the years 1980 to 2009, examined the impact of restrictive gun laws on gun violence and turns the "conventional wisdom" on its ear. That is, Guis review of that period (both before, during and after the Federal Assault Weapon Ban of 1994-2004) concluded that stricter gun laws do not result in a reduction in gun violence. In fact, Gius found the opposite – that a proliferation of concealed carry permits can actually reduce incidents of gun crime.

According to the abstract of the study:

“Using data for the period 1980 to 2009 and controlling for state and year fixed effects, the results of the present study suggest that states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murder rates than other states."

“It was also found that assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level.”

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The abstract concludes:

“These results suggest that restrictive concealed weapons laws may cause an increase in gun-related murders at the state level. The results of this study are consistent with some prior research in this area, most notably Lott and Mustard (1997).” 

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For those not familiar with Lott and Mustard, theses two researchers authored a controversial 1997 study which found that right-to-carry concealed gun provisions both “deters violent crimes and it appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths.”

This flies in the face of the gun control lobby's long-time narrative that "more guns means more gun crimes" and that restrictive gun laws, even though they impact law-abiding citizens, lower the rate of gun crime/violence. 

Note the time period of this study, starting in 1980, well before the most restrictive gun laws entered in California and elsewhere in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This may be the most wide ranging study of its kind. 

Before anyone accuses Mr. Gius of being a shill for the NRA or the gun industry, he is a self-acknowledged Democrat. You can view an interview with Mr. Gius here.

Detroit's Police Chief Says Legal Gun Owners Can Deter Crime

In an interview with The Detroit News, Detroit Police Chief James Craig suggested that if more citizens were armed, criminals would think twice about attacking them. This turns the gun control meme on its head, especially since police chiefs of urban cities are typically supportive of gun restrictions. Quoting Chief Craig in The Detroit News:

“When we look at the good community members who have concealed weapons permits, the likelihood they’ll shoot is based on a lack of confidence in this Police Department,” Craig said at a press conference at police headquarters, adding that he thinks more Detroit citizens feel safer, thanks in part to a 7 percent drop in violent crime in 2013.

Craig said he started believing that legal gun owners can deter crime when he became police chief in Portland, Maine, in 2009.

“Coming from California (Craig was on the Los Angeles police force for 28 years), where it takes an act of Congress to get a concealed weapon permit, I got to Maine, where they give out lots of CCWs (carrying concealed weapon permits), and I had a stack of CCW permits I was denying; that was my orientation.

“I changed my orientation real quick. Maine is one of the safest places in America. Clearly, suspects knew that good Americans were armed.”

CHICAGO HOMICIDES DOWN AS CRIMINAL FEARS OF ARMED CITIZENS RISE, SAYS FOUNDATION

The third item on the deterrent effect of an armed citizenry comes from a biased source, The Second Amendment Foundation which says in a press release:

Last year saw the City of Chicago reportedly post the fewest homicides since 1965, and the Second Amendment Foundation says one plausible explanation for at least part of the decline is because criminals can no longer be certain that their intended victim is not legally armed.

Since SAF’s landmark Supreme Court victory in the 2010 McDonald v. City of Chicago case that nullified the 30-year-old handgun ban in the city, increasing numbers of law-abiding citizens have obtained firearms for personal protection, noted SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb.

“For three decades,” he said, “street thugs essentially enjoyed a risk-free environment in the Windy City. That changed, thanks to a series of court victories stemming from SAF’s win in the McDonald case. That forced the city to enter the 21st Century and rejoin the United States where the right to keep and bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment.

“Surveys have repeatedly revealed that predatory criminals fear armed citizens,” he added. “Just the thought that an intended victim might be armed, and willing to fight back, tends to discourage some of these outlaws.”

ABC News reported that the city saw a 16-percent reduction in crime overall last year. There were 415 homicides, which was 88 fewer slayings than the city logged in 2012.

“Improved police work is certainly a factor, and no doubt a number of slayings involved people with criminal backgrounds, themselves, who are no longer victimizing the community,” Gottlieb observed. “However, it cannot be discounted that with the restoration of gun rights in the city, there is a deterrent factor that did not exist for many years under the virtual ban on private handgun ownership within the city limits.

“One thing about criminal predators is that they don’t want to risk getting shot by an intended victim,” he concluded. “Now, with legal concealed carry coming to Illinois thanks to SAF’s victory in Moore v. Madigan, this sends an even stronger message to criminals that it may be time to change their lifestyle.”

I report, you decide. 



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