Friday, January 03, 2014

New Study - Legal Concealed Carry Equals Fewer Murders

http://media.salon.com/2013/07/constitution_gun.jpg

A new study conducted by Quinnipiac University came up with some interesting results for gun control fanatics.Not only do states that outlaw concealed carry by law abiding citizens have much higher gun-related murder rates, but that banning 'assault weapons' (to gun grabbers, anything semi-automatic with scary looking graphics and the ability to fire five shots out of its magazine)has no meaningful effect on gun murder rates. (h/t, Truth Revolt)

The study, conducted by Quinnipiac University's Mark Gius, was published in Applied Economics Letters, and used extensive data from a thirty-year period, 1980-2009. Here's Gius's summation of the results:

Using data for the period 1980 to 2009 and controlling for state and year fixed effects, the results of the present study suggest that states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murder rates than other states. It was also found that assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level. These results suggest that restrictive concealed weapons laws may cause an increase in gun-related murders at the state level.

Gius also cites similar studies by John R. Lott and David B. Mustard.

It's actually an assault on common sense that such studies should be needed at all. People intent on breaking the law will always find or even make guns to do it if that's their tool of choice. The people at a disadvantage are law abiding citizens,their property and their families, who are given a choice of becoming criminals or remaining helpless.

To make it even simpler, answer these questions for yourself. If you were a criminal bent on robbing a convenience store, using a .38 as a persuader and then murdering any potential witnesses, where would you face the least risk of things going wrong? In New York City or Chicago? Or in Texas,where the
clerk, the guy in the stockroom in back and probably the forty-year-old matron over on aisle 3 are very likely carrying their own brand of lead-fueled deterrent and know how to use it?

If you and a co-perp break in and do a home invasion with rape, plunder and murder in mind, where would you be most likely to feel confident after you hear five shots about rushing and overpowering that terrified housewife before she can reload? In Los Angeles, where you know that's all the bullets she was able to legally have in her weapon? Or in Tulsa?

Here's a fun fact, by the way. The state with the loosest gun laws in America (including legal concealed carry) and the lowest per capita gun murder rate just happen to be the same...Vermont.

4 comments:

sykes.1 said...

The states passing strict gun control laws don't have gun problems, they have black problems. Gun violence is a virtual black monopoly. However, controlling black violence is politically impossible as it would require a military occupy of the black ghettos. So gun laws are passed as a palliative to white sensibilities.

The only good thing about all this is that voluntary segregation keeps the black violence largely within the ghetto and to white areas on the borders. Unfortunately borders move, and white, peaceful areas are submerged in the black zone.

r185 said...

Is the professor saying that there is causality between concealed carry states and gun murder rates?

Rob said...

Ummm, Sykes. Do you have any proof of that whatsoever? I doubt it.

What I do know is that blacks are disproportionally victims of gun violence on a per capita basis,but only in large, Democrat run urban enclaves like Chicago and New York where the laws that have been passed make it difficult for law abiding residents of whatever race to defend themselves against criminals.

In other areas, they are not, and the FBI figures per capita are a lot more even.

Your thesis basically implies that blacks are inherently prone to gun violence. It amounts to blaming the victims, and I have a feeling that your ideas here are affected by your feelings about black Americans in general.

B.Poster said...

It would seem to me that law enforcement officials who are serious about law enforcement rather than something else would much prefer a situation such as concealed and carry where law abiding citizens have no restrictions on obtaining and carrying firearms. After all it is impossible for these people no matter how brave and committed they may be to be ubiquitous. If law abiding citizens are able to carry firearms, this makes their jobs much easier!!

Law enforcement is already a difficult job. I think they'd welcome anything that would make their jobs easier. Also concealed and carry should make them more effective as there'd be less crime!! The job is now less difficult and you are more effective. I see no way to beat that!!

As such, the only way law enforcement officials would oppose concealed and carry laws would be if they have another agenda, perhaps they wish to terrorize innocent people. This does NOT apply to the law enforcement officials I know.

Of course we could make things even better. Do away with concealed and carry law entirely and allow the guns of law abiding citizens to visible for all to see. This would help to lower crimes against the innocent even more. nevertheless concealed and carry is a good place to start.

The crime that goes unreported is the fact that we need a study from a tenured college professor to prove the obvious. as you say it is "an assault on common sense," Absolutely amazing!!

What is even more amazing is the great state of Texas where I reside would very likely vote to restrict access to handguns for law abiding citizens if the voters were allowed to vote on it. Fortunately for us there is still a thing called "lobbyists" who can minimize the effect of the "voting public."

Often times lobbyists end up causing bad results for the public, however, in this case Texans should be grateful for the lobbyists whether they realize it or not. Now with that said the government can classify anyone as "non law abiding" almost at will even if they did NOTHING wrong. Clearly this an area that needs work. Clearly it seems allowing law abiding citizens the right to carry concealed handguns is a good thing and step in the right direction.