Seems that the more handguns carried by citizens, the fewer firearms deaths happen. You gotta get to page 3 to find the statistics, but they are there.
"In the 1980s and ’90s, as the concealed-carry movement gained steam, Americans were killed by others with guns at the rate of about 5.66 per 100,000 population. In this decade, the rate has fallen to just over 4.07 per 100,000, a 28 percent drop. The decline follows a fivefold increase in the number of “shall-issue” and unrestricted concealed-carry states from 1986 to 2006.
The highest gun homicide rate is in Washington, D.C., which has had the nation’s strictest gun-control laws for years and bans concealed carry: 20.50 deaths per 100,000 population, five times the general rate. The lowest rate, 1.12, is in Utah, which has such a liberal concealed weapons policy that most American adults can get a permit to carry a gun in Utah without even visiting the state.
The decline in gun homicides also comes as U.S. firearm sales are skyrocketing, according to federal background checks that are required for most gun sales. After holding stable at 8.5 to 9 million checks from 1999 to 2005, the FBI reported a surge to 10 million in 2006, 11 million in 2007, nearly 13 million in 2008 and more than 14 million last year, a 55 percent increase in just four years"
Note the highest deaths per 100K are in areas with the most restrictive handgun bans. (All law abiding citizens are therefore prey to those who are less than law abiding in those areas).
While correlation is not causation, there does seem to be an emerging pattern.
But you knew that already, didn't you?
Perhaps there are a few real, honest journalists at MSNBC. I must say that I am surprised.
I'm not sure that the existing data supports a pattern--the simple analysis I've done using Brady scores and FBI crime rates shows a correlation well below statistical relevance, and the direction depends on whether or not DC is included. You can cherry pick in either direction.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, my data was only state by state, and major cities tend to under-report crime--I think it probable that accurate crime data by city would show a correlation, although not particularly large. It would be interesting to see a study of the top 100 or 200 cities, comparing laws to actual rather than reported crime rate.