Huffington Post: “If there is one name which creates anger and hostility within the gun violence prevention (GVP) community, it’s not Wayne LaPierre, head of the National Rifle Association, it’s John Lott.”

If there is one name which creates anger and hostility within the gun violence prevention (GVP) community, it’s not Wayne LaPierre, head of the National Rifle Association, it’s John Lott. His book, More Guns, Less Crime, has become the Magna Carta for the pro-gun movement and his argument that armed citizens deter violent crime is immediately cited in any public debate involving the regulation of guns.

So before I go any further, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. It’s not that I necessarily agree with anything John Lott says. But what the GVP community does not acknowledge is that the data Lott uses to make his argument is not only essential for understanding gun violence; it also should serve as the primary source for crafting effective laws and regulations to keep guns out of the “wrong” hands. . . .

The rest of Weisser’s piece is available here.  We obviously disagree with a number of the criticism here directed against Dr. Lott, but the point here is to note what people in the gun control movement think of Lott’s influence.

The Huffington Post is hardly the first one to make this claim.  Here is a screenshot from the Liberal Planet website, but similar arguments have been made across the internet.