The scientific value of a study
can only be determined by examining how it was conducted, not
by parroting its "conclusions." This section is intended to
make available the actual study rather than what people are
saying about it. http://www.GunOwners.org/sourcetb.htm
The Failed Experiment: Gun Control and Public Safety in Canada,
Australia, England & Wales http://www.FraserInstitute.org/shared/readmore.asp?sNav=pb&id=604
By Gary
Mauser,
professor at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada,
this study examines crime trends in Commonwealth countries that
have recently introduced firearm regulations: i.e., England,
Australia, and Canada. The widely ignored key to evaluating
firearm regulations is to examine trends in total violent crime,
not just firearms crime. The U.S. provides a valuable point
of comparison for assessing crime rates because its criminal
justice system differs so drastically from those in Europe and
the Commonwealth. Perhaps the most striking difference is that
qualified citizens in the U.S. can carry concealed handguns
for self-defense. The upshot is that violent crime rates, and
homicide rates in particular, have been falling in the U.S.
The drop in the American crime rate is even more impressive
when compared with the rest of the world. Study available in
PDF (304K).
International Crime Victim Surveys (ICVS)
http://www.minjust.nl:8080/b_organ/wodc/reports/ob187i.htm
From the UN comes this look at crime rates and victim attitudes
for 17 major industrialized countries. What is of interest to
gun owners is the not-so-surprising revelation that England
now has the worst crime rate of all major countries. Following
a near-total ban on civilian ownership of firearms, crime in
England began to skyrocket. In the UN study, researchers found
that nearly 55 crimes are committed per 100 people in England
and Wales compared with an average of 35 per 100 in other industrialized
countries. England and Wales also have the worst record for
"very serious" offenses, recording 18 such crimes for every
100 inhabitants, followed by Australia with 16 (yet another
country that has all but banned legitimate self-defense, thus
creating a lucrative hunting ground for criminals). Data available
in English in PDF.
Safe Storage Gun Laws: Accidental Deaths, Suicides, and Crime
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=228534
Dr. John R. Lott of More Guns, Less Crime fame teamed with John
E. Whitley of the University of Adelaide on this study of more
than 20 years worth of "Lock Up Your Safety" madatory gun storage
laws. They found no support at all for the usual gun banner
claims that such laws will reduce juvenile accidental gun deaths
and suicides. On the contrary, these laws appear to impair the
ability of citizens to properly use their guns in self-defense.
During the first 5 full years after the passage of the safe
storage laws, the group of 15 states that adopted these laws
faced an annual average increase of over 300 more murders, 3,860
more rapes, 24,650 more robberies, and over 25,000 more aggravated
assaults. On average, the annual costs borne by victims averaged
over $2.6 billion as a result of lost productivity, out-of-pocket
expenses, medical bills, and property losses. Study available
in PDF (238K).
The Impact of Gun Laws on Police Deaths
http://www.terry.uga.edu/~dmustard/police.pdf
This groundbreaking study, published in The Journal of Law &
Economics, has discovered that states implementing concealed
carry laws benefit the safety of police. The author, David B.
Mustard of the University of Georgia's Department of Economics,
found that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed
weapons "does not endanger the lives of officers, and may help
reduce their risk of being killed." Study in PDF.
Urban Delinquency and Substance
Abuse
http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/urdel.pdf
From the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention
in the U.S. Department of Justice comes this study focusing
on crime, gang activity, and drug use among youths in cities.
Of particular interest is page 18. The study showed that youths
who owned illegal guns are also involved in street crime by
a whopping 71%. By contrast, the government researchers admit
that youths owning *legal* guns have a crime rate lower than
those who own no guns at all! The link between the socialization
of the family and instruction by fathers to legal gun ownership
and low crime rates is mentioned. The thugs, of course, are
getting their socialization "on the street." Study in PDF.
Guns in America: National Survey
on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms
http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/165476.txt
A federal grant from the Clinton Justice Department went to
2 anti-gun scholars. The results were findings that *support*
the work on defensive uses of firearms done by Dr. Gary Kleck
of FSU. Kleck's research has been unfairly vilified in the media,
but now even anti-gun researchers are admitting to more than
a million defensive uses per year. Link directs to the text
version; 20-page report also available in PDF (http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/165476.pdf).
Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry
Concealed Handguns
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/guns.html
This is the famous 1996 Lott and Mustard multi-year study which
proves the link between concealed carry and the lowering of
crime rates. Several format options available.
Crime and Justice in the United
States and England & Wales
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cjusew96.htm
This Clinton Department of Justice study looks at crime in the
U.S. vs. England from 1981-1996. Gun control in England is nearly
total, with yet another major ban passing in 1997. England's
attempts to control its society-wide crime problem with ever-more
restrictive gun control have proven to be a dismal failure.
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
The FBI Uniform Crime Reports. Most available in PDF only.
Shall Issue: The New Wave of Concealed Handgun Permit Laws
http://www.rkba.org/research/cramer/shall-issue.html
One of the oldest studies, from October 1994, relying heavily
upon early Florida and Washington State data. By Clayton E.
Cramer and David B. Kopel.
Florida Concealed Weapons Statistical
Report
http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/stats/cw_monthly.html
From the Florida Department of State. Updated monthly.
