| Hopefully, new studies are even as I write this being done. In the meantime here are a few facts from the National Center for Policy Analysis website, which at the time (1992), 31 states had these laws, now its 48.
Major crime fell dramatically in states which have legalized the carrying of concealed handguns, according to the 1992 study at the University of Chicago.
For the first time, researchers analyzed crime statistics for all 3,054 counties in the United States between 1977 and 1992, according to one of the authors of the unpublished study, Professor John Lott.
The study found that:
"-- In the 31 states that now have “concealed right to carry” laws, murders were down, on average, by 8.5 percent.
-- Rapes were down 5 percent and serious assaults by 7 percent.
According to the study, the fall in crime did not result from an increased use of guns, but from potential criminals avoiding confrontations. In fact, criminals apparently shifted to lower-risk offenses, since property crimes increased in those states. Other findings included:
-- The most dramatic falls in murder rates were in areas where the number of women carrying firearms was high.
-- The study found that for every woman who carries a concealed handgun, the murder rate fell by three to four times more than it would have if one more man had carried a concealed gun.
-- If states with concealed handgun bans had allowed them in 1992, about 1,570 murders, 4,177 rapes and more than 60,000 aggravated assaults would have been avoided."
In addition, the researchers found no evidence of an increase in accidental killings or suicides in states with concealed carry laws.
One has to wonder if these shooters knew that they might have been fired back on in a mall, or that the students at these universities had a way to defend themselves, if the shootings would have even taken place?
By the way, thank you for that interesting piece on the Appalachian School of Law, Highwayman.  |