 | Centers for Disease Control: No Conclusive Evidence that Gun Control Laws Reduce ViolenceScotty Starnes | January 25, 2011 at 8:20 AM | Tags: 2nd Amendment Rights, Arizona, gun control, gun violence, Jared Loughner, Rahm Emanuel, Second Amendment, Tucson | Categories: Political Issues | URL: http://wp.me/pvnFC-4eD |
Gun control advocates have nothing to back up their claims that more gun laws will reduce violence. Once again, I point to Chicago and Washington, D.C. to bitch slap liberal claims that strict handgun controls, and handgun bans, reduce violence. Both of these cities have the strictest gun laws in the country, yet both are suffering from some of the highest crime rates in the nation.
By the way, since the ruling of Heller v. Washington, DC, the capitol has seen a decrease of 9 percent in their homicide rate.
Robert A. Levy reports, via USActionNews.com:
Against the horrific backdrop of the Tucson, Arizona, tragedy, new gun control proposals are on the way. Some of our legislators will be tempted to apply Rahm Emanuel's aphorism, "Never let a good crisis go to waste."
For example, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-New York, wants to outlaw magazines with more than 10 rounds — even those already in circulation. She hasn't explained how a ban on previously sold magazines would deter anyone but law-abiding citizens.
Still, the Supreme Court has suggested that sensible gun regulations may be constitutionally permissible. Sensible is not, however, what we have in Washington, Chicago, New York and other cities, where you can probably get a pizza delivery before a response from a 911 call. Police cannot be everywhere.
Selected proposals may nonetheless be constructive, with three important qualifications. First, government has the burden to show that a regulation will not unduly impede the use of firearms for self-defense. Second, ostensibly modest steps down a slippery slope must not compromise core Second Amendment rights. Third, a regulation must be effective in promoting public safety, when weighed against reliable evidence that past restrictions have not lessened the incidence of gun-related crimes.
Recall that Washington banned handguns for 33 years; during some of those years the city was known as the nation's murder capital. Killers not deterred by laws against murder were not deterred by laws against owning guns. Moreover, anti-gun regulations did not address the deep-rooted causes of violent crime — illegitimacy, drugs, alcohol abuse and dysfunctional schools — much less mental instability.
In 2004, the National Academy of Sciences reviewed 253 journal articles, 99 books and 43 government publications evaluating 80 gun-control measures. Researchers could not identify a single regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents. A year earlier, the Centers for Disease Control reported on ammunition bans, restrictions on acquisition, waiting periods, registration, licensing, child access prevention and zero tolerance laws. CDC's conclusion: There was no conclusive evidence that the laws reduced gun violence.
So much for the quasi-religious faith that more controls mean fewer murders. There are about 500,000 gun-related crimes annually in the United States. Further, Americans own roughly 250 million guns. Assuming a different gun is used in each of the 500,000 crimes, only 0.2% of guns are involved in crime each year. A ban on firearms would be 99.8% over-inclusive.
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