Legalized Gun Carry - Does it Promote or Mitigate Crime?

[Guest justaman30]

I am doing research for a debate in a current college class and could use some help. The topic of the debate is the title for this post: Does legalized handgun carry promote crime or mitigate (reduce) crime? Can anyone direct me to some reliable information on this topic? Past posts on this site with relevant information is also welcome. I have been searching the site, but so far have found nothing of value on this topic. Thanks everyone.

[tntnixon]

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/concarry.pdf

here's a good place to start

[DaveTN]

I doubt you will find much reliable information on the topic; you will have to generate your own. You can look through state crime data and the FBI crime stats. Then you do like everyone else does; pick and choose your stats and put your own spin on the numbers.

Do you know prior to the debate which way you will be arguing?

[Guest Lester Weevils]

John Lott's "More Guns Less Crime" doesn't seem an expensive book, and ought to provide pretty good authoritative ammo for such a debate. He recently released an updated edition. I think this third edition is the latest--

Amazon.com: More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, Third Edition (Studies in Law and Economics) (9780226493664): John R. Lott Jr.: Books

Lott has some other scholarly books, and perhaps there is a better book by him or some other author specifically on the concealed carry issue, though there is plenty on concealed carry in More Guns Less Crime.

[Guest justaman30]

Thanks for these leads. I will be arguing that legalized handgun carry reduces crime. And I have to admit, the research I am doing seems to point out that it does. Of course, I am not a trained researcher, only a person reading all the information I can find.

[1gewehr]

Sounds like you have a good start. You might also want to look at British crime stats from 1903 - present. In 1903 they passed the Pistols Act, regulating the sale of handguns. It was widely ignored, so in 1920, they passed the Firearms Act, ostensibly as a revenue measure. but it required registration of firearms and severely regulated rifles and handguns. To the degree that by 1940, Britain was so unarmed that they appealed to Americans to donate firearms for British Home Defense. Since WWII, violent crime in Britain has gone nowhere but up.

[chances R]

Just a sidebar: Everyone noticed the increase in shoot-outs since the famous " guns-in-bars" bill has passed.....NOT. Why don't we hear of any follow-up reports by the news about this. Trial going on in Knoxville about a guy that came in looking for trouble and killed a patron. Of course we don't hear about simple SD situations with legal carry now either.

[eapking]

Read John Lott's stuff. Very good data.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I agree about John Lott's book. Don't let your

opponent try to trap you with the standard

liberal tripe. Stick to your guns, literally about

how no gun law has ever reduced crime, but

actually increased it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JayC]

I am doing research for a debate in a current college class and could use some help. The topic of the debate is the title for this post: Does legalized handgun carry promote crime or mitigate (reduce) crime? Can anyone direct me to some reliable information on this topic? Past posts on this site with relevant information is also welcome. I have been searching the site, but so far have found nothing of value on this topic. Thanks everyone.

John Lott, I'd read everything he's done on gun crime...

More Guns, Less Crime - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He's already done all the research for you. The above book focuses on the impact of legal handgun carry and it's impact on crime.

[Guest FTG-05]

Another good one: http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/5.1/gun-facts-5.1-screen.pdf

Another one, although I haven't spent much time there yet: Gun Control

Same here: Quick Gun Facts

Relatively recent article by John Lott: Opinion: Gun Control Emotions vs. Gun Control Facts

From the NRA: NRA-ILA :: Firearm Fact Card 2010

Good luck.

Edited March 29, 2011 by FTG-05

[Guest justaman30]

Thanks everyone. I purchased Lott's book for my Kindle and have found much to aid me. The debate is in my college class tonight.

[Guest uofmeet]

I would like to know how you feel the debate went and good luck.

[eapking]

Thanks everyone. I purchased Lott's book for my Kindle and have found much to aid me. The debate is in my college class tonight.

Let us know how it goes...you armed with facts and they armed with....um....um....wet underwear? Bet they'll start shouting you down in 5 minutes. That's the usual way these debates go, 'cause they got nothing.