But assault weapons cause crime!
The other biased Washington paper reports:
The federal assault-weapons ban, scheduled to expire in September, is not responsible for the nation’s steady decline in gun-related violence and its renewal likely will achieve little, according to an independent study commissioned by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).
“We cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation’s recent drop in gun violence. And, indeed, there has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence,” said the unreleased NIJ report, written by Christopher Koper, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
“It is thus premature to make definitive assessments of the ban’s impact on gun violence. Should it be renewed, the ban’s effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement,” said the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times.
The report also noted that assault weapons were “rarely used in gun crimes even before the ban.”
NIJ is the Justice Department’s research, development and evaluation agency — assigned the job of providing objective, independent, evidence-based information to the department through independent studies and other data collection activities.
The NIJ is apparently in agreement with the Centers for Disease Control, which an AP report about it said:
A sweeping federal review of the nation’s gun control laws — including mandatory waiting periods and bans on certain weapons — found no proof such measures reduce firearm violence.
The review, released Thursday, was conducted by a task force of scientists appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said the report suggests more study is needed, not that gun laws don’t work. But the agency said it has no plans to spend more money on firearms study.
And the Fraser Institute agrees that Gun Laws do Not Reduce Criminal Violence.
The article goes on to say:
The assault-weapons ban is set to expire Sept. 13, and at least six bills reauthorizing it are pending in the Senate and House.
Six bills pending? Geez. Got our work cut out for us.
August 18th, 2004 at 2:53 pm
[…] eridian to make his point. Actually, we have many points, including the fact that CDC and NIJ have concluded the ban has no effect on crime. So far so goo […]
August 21st, 2004 at 2:49 pm
[…] obably add more later today, after I get back from the custom knife show.
from SayUncle:But assault weapons cause crimeThe federal assault-weapons ban, sc […]
August 31st, 2004 at 1:59 pm
[…] n of DOJ data. What the National Institute for Justice (the research arm of the DOJ) says is: We cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation’s rece […]