More Guns, Less Crime? - A Debate

The Case for Arming Yourself

Updated January 12, 2011, 11:39 PM

John R. Lott Jr. is the author of the recently revised third edition of “More Guns, Less Crime.”

One can only hope that Saturday’s horrible attack in Tucson encourages more citizens to carry concealed handguns. Fortunately, one shopper in the Walgreen’s near Representative Giffords’ event was Joseph Zamudio. When he heard the shots he ran toward them because his legally carried 9 mm semiautomatic offered him protection. Joe helped tackle the killer before more harm occurred. Too bad someone like him wasn’t even closer to the crime.

It Takes Laws to Control the Bad Guys

January 11, 2011

John J. Donohue 3rd is the C. Wendell and Edith M. Carlsmith professor of law at Stanford University.

In an ideal world, stable, cautious law-abiding citizens would have access to guns and others would not. Ideally, we would like wise regulation and prudent personal decisions about carrying and using guns. Deciding on the elements of wise laws and consumer decisions ultimately requires extensive data analysis beyond any single episode, like the horrific killings in Tucson. But this tragedy does highlight some relevant issues.

More Guns Means More Guns

Updated January 12, 2011, 11:40 PM

James Alan Fox is the Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy at Northeastern University.

On Oct. 16, 1991, Suzanna Gratia Hupp helplessly watched her mother and father die as George Hennard Jr. methodically blasted away at a crowd of stunned customers in Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, Tex. In the carnage, she had a clear shot at the assailant and reached for her purse to get her gun. But Hupp soon realized she didn’t have it with her, as state law prohibited citizens to carry guns concealed inside pocketbooks or clothing. As a survivor, she became a forceful advocate for concealed-weapons laws.

A Chance to Fight Back

Updated January 12, 2011, 11:41 PM

David Kopel is the research director of the Independence Institute and an adjunct professor of law at the University of Denver. He is the co-author of “Gun Control and Gun Rights.”

When President William McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist, he was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt. The new president promptly started carrying a semiautomatic Fabrique Nationale pistol for protection at public events, and keeping it on his bedside table at night. “I should have a chance of shooting the assassin before he could shoot me, if he were near me,” Roosevelt explained (in "Roosevelt As We Knew Him," by Frederick Wood) When Roosevelt visited Harvard University, the school’s president, Charles W. Eliot, was chagrined to discover Roosevelt strapping on a holster in his room, ignoring the Massachusetts law restricting concealed handguns.

The 'Right to Carry' Fallacy

January 11, 2011

Daniel Webster is a professor and the co-director at the Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

When mass shootings occur, many think that, if only one of the citizens at the site had access to a firearm, they could have taken the gunman out and saved lives. That’s an odd argument to make in a state where probably more people carry guns than in any other state.

Read on...

Crimbrary is surprised that the New York Times would still give John Lott space in their paper. Crimbrary is surprised that Crimbrary gave John Lott space in Crimbrary. More on John Lott here. Tom

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Okay, but if they took away all the guns, they could fisticuff themselves into a passion without killing anyone.