Dr. John Lott has an interview today with America’s 1st Freedom about Democrat Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s call to reinstitute the state’s One-Gun-A-Month law.
On the same day that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoed legislation that would have helped protect women who had been issued a protective order, McAuliffe also used an amendatory veto to send Senate Bill 1023 back to the General Assembly in the form of a “one-handgun-a-month” bill. And despite no proof that any such law has ever helped decrease violent crime anywhere, some in the media quickly rallied behind McAuliffe’s proposal.
One particular editorial at Dailypress.com took a particularly frustrating tack, choosing to question why gun owners need to practice their Second Amendment rights beyond just one time in a 30-day period. We decided to ask criminologist John Lott, author of the new book, The War On Guns: Arming Yourself Against Gun Control Lies, about that editorial and one-gun-a-month laws in general.
A1F Daily: A Daily Press editorial on Monday asked, “How Many Guns Do You Need?” It then went on to argue for the one-gun-a-month proposal by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. What does your research show about laws limiting the number of guns law-abiding Americans can purchase?
John Lott: As with other gun control laws, the discussion only seems to concentrate on their possible benefits. But all laws have both costs and benefits, and one-gun-a-month regulations have real potential costs. For example, a stalked woman who might want to have more than one gun in her home so that a gun is in easy reach if something goes wrong. In fact, in my book, More Guns, Less Crime, I find that a one-gun-a-month rule has negative consequences. But only three states passed these laws during the more than 20 years that I studied, so any results are suggestive. Nevertheless, murders, robberies and aggravated assaults rose when these laws took effect.
A1FD: Why do you think media jump onto such anti-gun proposals and shamelessly promote them?
Lott: Unfortunately, the media isn’t very skeptical of gun control laws. Gun control advocates like rules that discourage gun ownership, and one-gun-a-month rules clearly do that.
A1FD: The editorial concludes with, “An ordinary citizen shouldn’t need to buy more than 12 guns in a year, and a dangerous one shouldn’t be able to.” How do you respond to that?
Lott: Talking about 12 guns a year is misleading. While few people might buy more than 12 guns a year, when people buy guns they might want to buy more than one at that time. As noted earlier, if a woman is seriously threatened or stalked, a couple of guns within easy reach in her home might be her best option. Or, if you are helping set up a shooting trip for the Boy Scouts, you might want to buy several shotguns.
The interview is also available here.
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