Obama and the gun controllers are coming out in droves to push their agenda. 58% of America now supports "assault" weapons bans (semi-autos, when called "assault"weapons the number is 55%) as well as high capacity magazine bans. 85% of Americans support background checks, etc. Pew Research has published this interesting poll:
Whoa, people want to ban the sale of ammunition online? That's idiotic. People will argue "lots of cheap ammo online, criminals would love it". Well, they forget, "lots of cheap ammo online: gun collectors, hunters, sporting events, and people defending themselves would love it". Gun controllers really don't understand how gun ownership works. But let's focus on "assault weapons" and high capacity mags.
The poll above made me laugh: they separated semi-automatics and "assault" weapons. "Assault" weapons ARE semi-automatics. The only difference is the aesthetics. Assault weapons are semi-automatics, not automatics. This video further discusses the issue. He takes apart a hunting rifle, but when he changes the parts it looks excatly like an AR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysf8x477c30&mode=related&search=
How about high capacity magazines? The question, which favors a gun controllers standpoint in the eyes of the public, can be reversed: How about multiple attackers? In the LA riots, South Korean Merchants were able to keep their stores standing while the stores next to theirs burned. Their high capacity magazines (they were using assault weapons by the way) actually saved lives. Unlike a revolver where, in this case, there is no good reason to waste one of your 6-8 bullets, you can afford 3 warning shots.
Alright, these bans would save lives, right? Eh, no. Both 1999 and 2004 studies issued by the U.S. government finds that while assault weapons crime did fall during the ban, there is no evidence the bans decreased the assault weapons crime. How can this be? First, crime (in all categories) was decreasing in all categories before the ban. After the ban was passed, the crime fell at the same rate. Near 2000, the crime leveled off. After the ban was lifted, crime began to fall. Now, these studies mainly focused on murder. John Lott published two studies (one not peer reviewed) in 2003 and again in 2010. Lott's 2003 study found two things:
1. There is no evidence assault weapons ban decrease crime -- as supported by every single study and most academics (other than a Brady Campaign report)
2. There is weak evidence assault weapons bans increase crime.
Obviously, when looking into other factors, the basic data trends may not be enough. Lott accounted for these variables. In his 2003 study, he found Assault weapons increased crime 1.5% and murder increased 11.9%. He also found rape would increase 3.2% and robbery 9.9%. Only two categories showed a decrease: Aggravated assault, down 4.6%, and Auto Theft, down 12.4%. The Assaukts were not statistically significant [1]. Lott's second study, in 2010, is the only study done since the sunset of the ban. His second study had lower results, with a 3.2% increase in murder, 0.1% increase in assaults, 1% increase in rape, and 2.7% increase in robbery [2]. All of his second study results were statistically significant, whereas many of his first study's results were not.
The assault weapons bans studied had High capacity bans, too. And look how successful these bans where (sarcasm). I hope these new policies are not enacted and these facts come to be recognized.
1. Lott, John R. The Bias against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard about Gun Control Is Wrong. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub., 2003. Print.
2. Lott, John R. More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun-control Laws. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2010. Print.
Whoa, people want to ban the sale of ammunition online? That's idiotic. People will argue "lots of cheap ammo online, criminals would love it". Well, they forget, "lots of cheap ammo online: gun collectors, hunters, sporting events, and people defending themselves would love it". Gun controllers really don't understand how gun ownership works. But let's focus on "assault weapons" and high capacity mags.
The poll above made me laugh: they separated semi-automatics and "assault" weapons. "Assault" weapons ARE semi-automatics. The only difference is the aesthetics. Assault weapons are semi-automatics, not automatics. This video further discusses the issue. He takes apart a hunting rifle, but when he changes the parts it looks excatly like an AR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysf8x477c30&mode=related&search=
How about high capacity magazines? The question, which favors a gun controllers standpoint in the eyes of the public, can be reversed: How about multiple attackers? In the LA riots, South Korean Merchants were able to keep their stores standing while the stores next to theirs burned. Their high capacity magazines (they were using assault weapons by the way) actually saved lives. Unlike a revolver where, in this case, there is no good reason to waste one of your 6-8 bullets, you can afford 3 warning shots.
Alright, these bans would save lives, right? Eh, no. Both 1999 and 2004 studies issued by the U.S. government finds that while assault weapons crime did fall during the ban, there is no evidence the bans decreased the assault weapons crime. How can this be? First, crime (in all categories) was decreasing in all categories before the ban. After the ban was passed, the crime fell at the same rate. Near 2000, the crime leveled off. After the ban was lifted, crime began to fall. Now, these studies mainly focused on murder. John Lott published two studies (one not peer reviewed) in 2003 and again in 2010. Lott's 2003 study found two things:
1. There is no evidence assault weapons ban decrease crime -- as supported by every single study and most academics (other than a Brady Campaign report)
2. There is weak evidence assault weapons bans increase crime.
Obviously, when looking into other factors, the basic data trends may not be enough. Lott accounted for these variables. In his 2003 study, he found Assault weapons increased crime 1.5% and murder increased 11.9%. He also found rape would increase 3.2% and robbery 9.9%. Only two categories showed a decrease: Aggravated assault, down 4.6%, and Auto Theft, down 12.4%. The Assaukts were not statistically significant [1]. Lott's second study, in 2010, is the only study done since the sunset of the ban. His second study had lower results, with a 3.2% increase in murder, 0.1% increase in assaults, 1% increase in rape, and 2.7% increase in robbery [2]. All of his second study results were statistically significant, whereas many of his first study's results were not.
The assault weapons bans studied had High capacity bans, too. And look how successful these bans where (sarcasm). I hope these new policies are not enacted and these facts come to be recognized.
1. Lott, John R. The Bias against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard about Gun Control Is Wrong. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub., 2003. Print.
2. Lott, John R. More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun-control Laws. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2010. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment