This research contradicts gun-control advocates’ assertions.
QUICK FACTS:
- Data from a recent study indicates that states with a higher percentage of gun-owning households are not states with higher levels of violent crime.
- Calls for stricter gun laws caused George Mason University Professor Emerita Joyce Lee Malcolm to study the correlation between gun ownership and violent crime stretching back several decades.
- The researcher discovered that a study done on burglars from 1986 found that 34% of the criminals interviewed reported having been “scared off, shot at, wounded or captured” by an armed victim.
- “Gun ownership is higher in states with fewer restrictions, and homicide rates in these states are lower. People can protect themselves,” Malcolm said.
SOME DATA INDICATES LOWER MURDER RATES IN AREAS WITH MORE GUNS:
- FBI data compiled and analyzed by Fox News Digital indicated that in 2019, murders and gun murders per 100,000 population do not, on average, reflect an increase in violent crimes in states with more homes where firearms are present.
- The study also included assembled Rand Corporation data released in 2020 that offered statistics about household gun ownership from 2016 showing similar results, with no increase in violence in states with fewer gun-owning households.
- In fact, some data indicates states with higher levels of gun ownership had lower levels of gun murder rates, compared with states who had strict gun control laws.
BACKGROUND:
- President Joe Biden and many Democrats have been calling for stricter gun control laws, citing events like the Uvalde, Texas school shooting.
- The plan includes a ban on all “assault weapons and high capacity magazines,” as well as raising the age to purchase a gun to 21 and increasing the strength of background checks.
- The Biden administration is also looking to the implementation of “red flag laws,” which many believe would be a gross overstep of governmental authority on the private citizen.
