Facts don't back more gun control

Not long after the Loganville, Georgia mother had grabbed her children and her husband’s gun, the stranger forced his way through the front door. He rummaged around the house, finding his way to the closet where they were hidden. Police were on the way, but she and her children were cornered. Five of her six shots hit him, but he got out and drove away.[1]

One hundred years ago, “Big Tim” Sullivan took advantage of community outrage after the Gramercy Park murder-suicide. A corrupt New York state politician of Tammany Hall fame, Sullivan was more interested in protecting his thugs than the public. His new law, the Sullivan Act, required a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but it allowed local authorities to reject an application, giving Tammany Hall the ability to decide who would be armed. A year after it became law, robberies had climbed by 40 percent and murders by 18 percent.[2]

Cries for more gun control are rarely grounded in fact. Recent letters have called for banning automatic weapons and 600-rounds-per-minute AK-47s, yet federal laws passed in 1934, 1968 and 1986 made these guns illegal decades ago.[3]

The “assault weapons” many talk of banning are just rifles with one or more “military characteristics” like barrel shrouds. They look like military weapons, but function like the rifles and shotguns used by hunters, firing only one bullet when the trigger is pulled. Barrel shrouds protect your hands from getting burned; putting one on a rifle doesn’t make it any more dangerous than putting pinstripes on my Prius will make it go faster.[4]

Our police do a fine job. In recent years, they’ve had to deal with shrinking public budgets, pay cuts and mandatory overtime, but they still serve and protect. However, they cannot be in all places at all times. Across the country, the average police response time varies between five and ten minutes.[5][6] Sheriffs from South Carolina to Wisconsin acknowledge this, recommending that the public learn how to defend themselves – with guns.[7][8]

With few exceptions, most states have relaxed their gun control regulations over the past few decades. Gun control activists want us to believe that every shooting on the evening news is a result of this. Yet, as gun ownership has risen, crime has fallen.

Economist John Lott studied every county in the US and found that when more law abiding citizens are armed, violent crime falls.[9][10] Some question Lott's conclusions, but it's been verified again and again. In Virginia, the Richmond Times-Dispatch found that a 63 percent increase gun ownership was accompanied by a 27 percent decrease in violent crime.[11] CBS News reported that gun sales in California rose by 36 percent, yet gun injuries fell by 28 percent, and gun deaths fell by 15 percent.[12]

One of those exceptions, Massachusetts, implemented some of the strictest gun laws in the nation in 1998.[13] The new laws are so onerous that legal gun ownership plummeted by 84 percent. As New York learned in 1911, criminals prefer disarmed victims. Before 1998, violent crime in Massachusetts had been falling. Since 1998, gun-related assaults have increased 59 percent; gun murders have risen 79 percent.[14][15][16][17][18]

New York state recently limited firearms to seven rounds. Governor Patrick wants to follow their lead, but the facts don't support this additional infringement on our constitutional right to self-defense.[19] When you need six shots to stop one assailant, seven won’t be much good if there are two of them. The governor’s bodyguards will be exempt. The rest of us will be hiding in our closets, hoping the police arrive in less time than the national average.

(This also appeared as an op-ed in the Monday, February 11, 2013 edition of the Cape Cod Times)

For those interested, these links provide references for the facts provided:

[1]Cops: Mother of two surprises intruder with five gunshots

[2]Kachalsky v. Cacace

[3]National Firearms Act (NFA) - History of the National Firearms Act

[4]The Truth About Assault Weapons

[5]Criminal Victimization in the United States Tables: Table 107

[6]Response times- city to city

[7]Sheriff tells women to get guns to ward off attacks

[8]Sheriff David Clarke's radio ad says 911 not best option, urges residents to take firearms classes

[9]An interview with John R. Lott, Jr. author of More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws

[10]John Lott: More Guns, Still Less Crime

[11]Gun-related violent crimes drop as sales soar in Va.

[12]As Calif. gun sales go up, number of gun-casualties goes down

[13]Welcome to Massachusetts! A Practical Guide to Living in the State

[14]Violent Death Reporting

[15]Injury Fatalities to Massachusetts Residents 1998

[16]MAVDRS Violent Death Report 4-19-12

[17]Weapon Related Injury Surveillance System (WRISS)

[18]WRISS Data Overview: Gunshot and Sharp Instrument Wounds, 1994-2009

[19]An Act To Strengthen and Enhance Firearms Laws in the Commonwealth