John Lott, who is the country’s foremost gatherer and analyst of gun statistics, has demonstrated conclusively that more guns equals fewer crimes of violence. The killers themselves have recognized this, as they only stop when confronted by superior firepower.
Andrew P. Napolitano, “Blaming the Constitution,” Yahoo! News, May 22, 2022; Washington Times, May 18, 2022; and New Jersey Herald, May 22, 2022.
“It’s simple,” says John Lott, former chief economist for the U.S. Sentencing Commission. He tells RealClearInvestigations, “If you make it less risky to commit a crime, you will get more of the crime.”
Eric Felten, “Despite Rising Crime, Nation’s Capital Is at Forefront of Cities Pushing Leniency,” Real Clear Investigations, May 11, 2022. Eric Felten, “Despite Rising Crime, Nation’s Capital Is at Forefront of Cities Pushing Leniency,” Longview News-Journal (Longview, Texas), May 13, 2022.
Additionally, 25 states already have constitutional carry on the books, and we have yet to see the conclusive academic studies that reinforce its dangers or the liberal assertions of “Wild West shootouts” materializing in the streets.
In fact, research from the Crime Prevention Research Center, a research and education organization that does not accept donations from gun or ammunition manufacturers or any organizations on either side of the gun control debate, shows the opposite is true. After the passage of constitutional carry laws, states tend to see a decrease in violent crime and a statistically significant drop in the murder rate. . . .
Luis Valdes, “Let’s make Florida the ‘Gunshine State’,” Yahoo News!, May 13, 2022 and “Let’s make Florida the ‘Gunshine State’,” Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Florida), May 13, 2022.
Leslie Osche, a Republican county commissioner from Butler County, Jessica Morgan, a Republican judge of elections in Luzerne County, and John Lott, a conservative who is now president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, also offered remarks on Thursday without swearing an oath. . . .
Marley Parish, “Pennsylvania Democrats walk out of GOP-led election hearing,” Raw Story, March 31, 2022.
As Dr. John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center recently noted in a piece dealing with public perceptions and misinformation about violent crime, even most Americans who falsely believe that most violent crime involves a gun don’t have much confidence that more gun control laws would make a difference.
The new McLaughlin & Associates survey of 1,000 likely voters from April 20 to 26 for the Crime Prevention Research Center shows how misinformed people are. People across the country, of all races and incomes, have wildly inaccurate beliefs about how frequently violent crime involves guns.
… The McLaughlin survey also gave people three options on the best way to fight crime: Pass more gun control laws, more strictly enforce current laws, or have police concentrate on arresting repeat violent criminals.
Some respondents at least got it right that less than 20% of violent crime involves guns. Just 8% prioritized more gun laws, and 15% focused on stricter enforcement of existing laws. An overwhelming 71% thought the best way of fighting crime was to arrest violent criminals.
Some likely voters thought that more than 80% of the violent crime involved guns. Most supported either more gun control laws (33%) or more strict enforcement of current gun laws (28%). Only 36% of them wanted the focus on arresting violent criminals. . . .
The more misinformed you are about how frequently firearms are used in violent crime, the more likely you are to support new gun control laws. That finding doesn’t surprise me, though again, it’s worth noting that even among those Americans who wildly overestimate the use of firearms in violent crimes, two-thirds of them don’t believe that more gun control laws are the best way to fight violent crime.
Cam Edwards, “New poll shows declining support for gun control,” May 17, 2022.
4) The War on Guns: Arming Yourself Against Gun Control Lies, by John Lott. This book is about the public debate on gun control, mostly how people mislead with statistics. Beforehand, you may want to read Lott’s research, the most extensive study of crime ever conducted, in More Guns, Less Crime. That book has one chapter on the media bias and related issues he experienced after his research was published.
Greg Foley, The Best Books on Media Bias, February 22, 2022.
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