A HIGH CALIBER OF CITIZENS: University of Chicago economist John Lott
studied crime statistics in states that have "relaxed" laws about
carrying guns. He found that the crime rates in "right to carry"
states
went down, sometimes way down, after passing legislation allowing
responsible adults to carry guns. Murders fell an average of 8
percent,
rapes 5 percent and aggravated assaults 7 percent, while at the same
time in the U.S. as a whole murders went up 24 percent, rapes went up
71 percent, and assaults went up more than 100 percent. And in those
states, the death rate in mass public shootings -- such as a crazed
gunman opening fire in a crowded restaurant -- dropped 69 percent,
while deaths from accidental shootings increased by only about one per
year. Hardly a gun freak, Lott has never been a member of the National
Rifle Association and didn't even own a gun when he started his study.
But once he saw how clearly the statistics were turning out, he bought
one. (Time)
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