NCJ Number
176287
Date Published
1998
Length
231 pages
Annotation
This analysis of crime statistics for all 3,054 counties over 18 years, national surveys on gun ownership, and State police on illegal gun use concludes that laws on the right to carry guns and legally concealed handguns currently represent the most cost-effective methods available for reducing violent crime.
Abstract
The analysis also considers data on accidental gun deaths and suicides. It concludes that many of the most commonly held assumptions about gun control and its effectiveness in reducing crime are wrong. Thus, waiting periods, gun buybacks, and background checks produce virtually no benefits in crime reduction. In addition, mass public shootings such as the Long Island Railroad shooting by Colin Ferguson and the 1996 Empire State Building shooting are markedly reduced once law-abiding citizens in a State are allowed to carry concealed handguns. The author maintains that criminals generally respond to deterrence; the possibility of being shot by someone carrying a concealed weapon represents a substantial risk and discourages physical confrontation. Thus, the States now experiencing the largest reductions in crime are also the ones with the most rapidly increasing rates of gun ownership. Tables, figures, reference notes, index, and 97 references (Publisher summary modified)