A Palm Beach URL sent me a link to a Medical News Today gun ban propaganda piece from September, titled “Lax Gun Laws in neighboring States May Raise Firearms Deaths.” https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE1.HTM
It would – if criminals observed laws. But criminals live by flouting the laws, and all the restrictive gun laws have little or no effect on criminals. PUNISHMENT has a powerful effect on criminals, but a law? Words on paper?
Words in a law book mean nothing to those who believe they are entitled to the things other swork to acquire. In the case of guns, background checks have little effect on firearms facilitated crime, because criminals do not bother with the dealers, but go directly to to places wehre most families are two income families, and those at home work nights, and break and enter until they have as many guns as they want. And ten minutes later they are on the interstate headed for another State.
Pr. of a criminal does not want to go to that trouble, some friend or relative will have stolen and trafficked guns for sale – for a small fraction of the cost of a similar gun from a dealer.
Academic studies such as the University of Chicago’s prison survey find that less than one percent of working criminals ever attempt to buy a gun from a dealer. Instead, they buy trafficked guns, paying from $125 to $165 for a fuly loaded “police caliber” handgun that would cost $600 for at a gun dealer. And buying a trafficked gun from Cousin Willie means there is no ATF Form 4473 linking the gun to him, no background check to indicate he may have a gun, and nothing but a dead end at the last legal purchaser for the cops if they find the gun and run a trace. That is why cities like Seattle, Chicago, New York City, Boston, and other major cities where gun purchases are difficult still show up to 90% of guns recovered by police are reported as stolen. Stolen in places like Columbus, Mississippi, Opp, Alabama, Lufkin Texas, and other small city venues.
But one thing that does work is fear of trying to victimize an armed target. Tje chart below, from the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Criminal Victimization Survey for 2015 shows the results of repealing the “may issue” Concealed Carry Weapons Permit system to “Must Issue Unless Disqualified” system most States not issue.
The rush to put guns in the hands of potential victims hands began in December 1993, and essentially ended when the Federal Background Check, NICS Check, system was instituted on November 30, 198. Note how fear of instant punishment stopped fiolent crime, particularly “spur of the moment crimes.” And as usual, you can look at the overall violent crime rates from the FBI Uniform Crime Report system here: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm
Notice how quickly violent crime fell when a substantial number of Must Issue systems, starting with Florida, were enacted, and then the rate slowed as the fight for rational Concealed Carry laws became a State by State affair, and then how sharply the decline flattened out when NICS checks were required for ALL dealer gun sales, including sales at gun shows.
If you want to reduce crime, make laws that punish criminals, not the law abiding for owning legal property. If you want to cut crime, punish cimrinals, not the law abiding.
We need rational gun laws, such as adequate penalties for gun theft and gun trafficking which arm the criminal underworld. And We need adequate penalties for the tiny minority who will use a gun to facilitate crime.
Laws that punish the law abiding for the acts of the insane who freely foram our streets are counterproductive and in their way are as insane as the individuals who commit violence against others.
Stranger