More Guns Being Sold
And Fewer Crimes Committed
The passionate anti-gun crowd would have folks believe that heightened momentum nationally toward open-carry and concealed-carry laws is 1) merely a ploy on the part of the firearms industry to sell more product and/or 2) an open invitation to more, rather than less, violent crime.
Statistics lend a certain credence ? if not outright cause-and-effect ? to the former contention, but a recent report published by (of all people) the gang at MSNBC.com thoroughly disputes the latter notion. In the past decade, as more and more states liberalized gun laws in favor of open-carry and concealed-carry permits, the rate of firearm-related homicides has fallen ? and dramatically so ? rather than risen.
The numbers are illustrative. As the MSNBC report indicated, Americans in the 1980s and ?90s were killed by guns at a rate of 5.66 per every 100,000 of population. Since 2000, or ever since the increase in open-carry and concealed-carry statutes, this rate has fallen 28 percent to 4.07 per 100,000.
What?s more, this reduction has transpired as the number of guns legally purchased has jumped, again dramatically. The amount of weapons sold remained constant, at between 8.5 million and 9 million annually, in the period 1999-2005. But, starting in 2006, this number jumped an astounding 55 percent ? from 10 million that year to more than 14 million in 2009.
Thus, more guns do not translate into more deaths from gun use. In fact, just the opposite has happened. Of decidedly greater significance is the nature of laws on the books pertinent to ownership of weapons.
A classic point-counterpoint: The District of Columbia has the highest gun-homicide rate ? 20.50 deaths per 100,000 in population. The district also boasts one of America?s most restrictive gun-control laws. The lowest gun-homicide rate can be found in Utah, at 1.12 deaths per 100,000 people. Not surprisingly, Utah also sports one of the country?s least-stringent series of gun laws, not to mention a widely acclaimed mandatory firearm safety course for all legal gun-owners.
Firearms in the legal possession of law-abiding Americans need not translate into more violence. In fact, as the MSNBC report clearly suggests, the precise converse holds in states that hold Second Amendment rights dear. These statistics don?t lie, and so a case can be made that a well-armed citizenry means fewer, rather than more, murders, robberies, and rapes.
And Fewer Crimes Committed
The passionate anti-gun crowd would have folks believe that heightened momentum nationally toward open-carry and concealed-carry laws is 1) merely a ploy on the part of the firearms industry to sell more product and/or 2) an open invitation to more, rather than less, violent crime.
Statistics lend a certain credence ? if not outright cause-and-effect ? to the former contention, but a recent report published by (of all people) the gang at MSNBC.com thoroughly disputes the latter notion. In the past decade, as more and more states liberalized gun laws in favor of open-carry and concealed-carry permits, the rate of firearm-related homicides has fallen ? and dramatically so ? rather than risen.
The numbers are illustrative. As the MSNBC report indicated, Americans in the 1980s and ?90s were killed by guns at a rate of 5.66 per every 100,000 of population. Since 2000, or ever since the increase in open-carry and concealed-carry statutes, this rate has fallen 28 percent to 4.07 per 100,000.
What?s more, this reduction has transpired as the number of guns legally purchased has jumped, again dramatically. The amount of weapons sold remained constant, at between 8.5 million and 9 million annually, in the period 1999-2005. But, starting in 2006, this number jumped an astounding 55 percent ? from 10 million that year to more than 14 million in 2009.
Thus, more guns do not translate into more deaths from gun use. In fact, just the opposite has happened. Of decidedly greater significance is the nature of laws on the books pertinent to ownership of weapons.
A classic point-counterpoint: The District of Columbia has the highest gun-homicide rate ? 20.50 deaths per 100,000 in population. The district also boasts one of America?s most restrictive gun-control laws. The lowest gun-homicide rate can be found in Utah, at 1.12 deaths per 100,000 people. Not surprisingly, Utah also sports one of the country?s least-stringent series of gun laws, not to mention a widely acclaimed mandatory firearm safety course for all legal gun-owners.
Firearms in the legal possession of law-abiding Americans need not translate into more violence. In fact, as the MSNBC report clearly suggests, the precise converse holds in states that hold Second Amendment rights dear. These statistics don?t lie, and so a case can be made that a well-armed citizenry means fewer, rather than more, murders, robberies, and rapes.
