Guns and Crime
One thing I rarely do in a gun control debate is resort to crime statistics. Because crime is irrelevant with respect to second amendment rights. For us to be free, we must realize that people will abuse their freedoms and be prepared for such abuse. People will abuse guns, just like they will abuse freedom of speech. It will happen. The fact that people will abuse their rights is not justification to infringe on the rights of others who are not inclined to such abuses. The solution is harsher penalties for people who commit crimes involving the use of firearms. However (there’s always a ‘however’), guns and crime are interesting because the facts indicate (contrary to gun grabber doctrine) that a decrease in gun ownership results in an increase in crime. Washington DC’s high murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control, and Indianapolis’ lower murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to less gun control. In DC, you can’t even own a handgun unless you owned it prior to 1976. Even if you have a grandfathered handgun, it’s illegal for you to load it. That is, of course, assuming you’re a law abiding citizen. Data show that in instances where there is a low percentage of the population that is armed, crime is higher. This is why places like New York, Detroit, DC, and Chicago have higher crime rates, it’s harder to get a gun. People inclined to obey the law don’t arm themselves and people with no such inclination will obtain weapons.
In not-so-Great Britain, a sweeping and confiscatory ban on guns took place in 1997. The result, a near 50% increase in crimes involving guns. A 1998 book entitled More Guns, Less Crime conducted a study with the following results (which have yet to be disputed successfully to my knowledge):
*States with carry permits for citizens have lower crime rates.
*Armed citizens defend themselves against crime 2,000,000 times per year. These stories rarely make the news unless someone winds up dead. Crime is a news story. A lack of crime isn’t.
*Resistance with a gun is the safest option, not passive resistance. Despite the Brady Center’s advice that you lay down and die.
Kim du Toit (one of my favorite recently discovered bloggers) provides an excellent analysis of causes of death in the US with data from the CDC:
Total deaths by gunshot: 28,663
Circumstances of gunshot deaths:
1. Suicide: 16,596 (53%)
2. Homicide: 10,806 (38%)
3. Accident: 774 (2.7%)
4. Police: 258 (0.9%)
5. Unknown: 229 (0.8%)
As a percentage of the total U.S. population:
— Gunshot homicide deaths (10,806) : 0.0036%
And for comparison purposes:
— Death by alcohol (19,358): 0.0062% [excl. alcohol-related accidents]
In other words, you’re almost twice as likely to die of alcohol poisoning than by gunshot-homicide.
Also, gun grabbers like to say What about the children?
For children under age 5 in the United States, less than 20 died of gunshot, about 100 drowned in bathtubs, and about 40 drowned in 5-gallon water buckets.
A brief cost-estimate analysis indicates the following:
2,000,000 Crimes prevented
10,806 Lives lost from gun homicides
1,989,194 Net gain
That’s a 99.456% return on our investment!
Obviously, not all 2,000,000 instances would have resulted in the death of the potential victim. But there is value in preventing crime as well as preventing death.
SayUncle has a carry permit (which he believes is an infringement of his rights, but he still doesn’t want to go jail). His weapon of choice is a Sig P229 in 9MM. SayUncle also possesses the evil 13 round capacity magazines instead of 10 round magazines. Be careful around SayUncle because those extra three rounds may turn him into a psychopath. SayUncle also has some Black Talon ammunition (which Winchester stopped making because the gun grabbers thought the round was just too deadly; hrrmm, bullets deadly, who’d have thunk it?), which is of course evil as well. SayUncle has also used his trusty Sig to prevent at least two potential crimes:
Once, in a dark parking lot while loading my car with the spoils of the day’s shopping, I noticed two ominous looking fellows heading speedily in my direction. I intentionally moved in such a way as to expose my holstered firearm and the potential miscreants stopped and turned around. Never even had to draw on them. Those extra three rounds and my deadly ammo should have turned me into a bloodthirsty killer. Strange that it didn’t happen.
I once was awakened at about 2:00 in the morning in my old college apartment to the sound of yelling. Grabbing the trusty Sig, I went to the front door and noticed about six drunken frat boys standing around a seventh guy (who lived in my building) threatening him and pushing him around a bit. Apparently, the guy had said something rude to one of them. Which doesn’t warrant an ass-whipping where the advantage is six to one, in my book. One on one, I’d have let them go at it. With gun in hand, I asked if the frat boys would mind going somewhere else. They, of course, complied.
The moral of these two stories: No shots were fired. No one got hurt. SayUncle did not turn into a raving psychopath and mow down everyone in sight. And crime was averted.
So, have you bought that gun yet? What are you waiting for?
March 25th, 2004 at 10:29 pm
im in a youth in law class. im in my last year of high school and we always have formal sicussions on things our next formal disccuion is 28March on should we or shouldnt we have guns. i think we should. without guns we wont have food on the table b/c hunting is a popualr sport and is puts food on the table if we didnt hunt deer’s would be walking down the block like we do. like the world trade center called us to go to war, we reley on the NRA so they can make us windchesters ithica kolt and all tpes of guns to use to protect us. even if they band guns, what if sum1 rubbed you in your home, they had a gun what your going to come at them with a knife, whjo do you think will win ? but one thing i think, if we get taxes taking out for welfare, i think it should be used for somhting else b/c those ppl use that money for drugs, it should be used for metal detecters in schools, school should not be a place to go being scared