Quote:
Originally Posted by Giller
Again, argue it's your right all you like - but if you want to argue FACTS - sorry, it can't be done.
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Here is the best data that I could find with references to the author of the actual study;
- There are "no statistically discernible relationship between concealed carry policies and the public’s perceptions of the number of firearm carriers." (Fortunato, 2015)
- "No support to the hypothesis that shall-issue laws have beneficial effects in reducing murder rates" (Grambsch, 2012)
- At the city level, there is "no evidence that [right-to-carry] laws reduce or increase rates of violent crime" (Kovandzic, Marvell and Vieraitis, 2005)
- "No statistically significant association exists between changes in concealed weapon laws and state homicide rates" (Hepburn, Miller, Azrael and Hemenway, 2004)
Of course, people can pick and choose from the multitude of studies that have been published. There are some that say that armed citizens are safer and that crime rates are reduced and there are other studies saying the exact opposite - if you want to cite a couple of studies reflecting/confirming your own personal opinion, its easy to do.
But the common denominator that I found seems to be that allowing concealed carry is largely irrelevant to the bigger picture of overall crime rates. The few people that are saved by having a gun is generally offset by a few accidents and everyone else continues to kill each other at the same rate whether concealed carry exists or not. Net change = 0.
This brings us right back to where we started; Owning and/or carrying a gun is a right and a personal decision. Choose wisely.