160 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
160 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
COMPARISONS BETWEEN CIVILIAN AND POLICE USE OF FIREARMS
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(Source: Civil Rights Attorney Don Kates, St. Louis
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University School of Law, in \Restricting Handguns: The Liberal
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Skeptics Speak Out,\ \Firearms and Violence\, and "Gun Control
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and the Subway Class." The first two are books; the last is an
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article in the January 10, 1985 Wall Street Journal.)
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Percentage of privately owned handguns used in crime: .004%
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Number of times a year private handguns successfully used in
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defense: 645,000
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Percentage of times armed police have succeeded in wounding
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or driving off criminals: 68%
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Percentage of times armed private citizens have succeeded in
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wounding or driving off criminals: 83%
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Percentage persons shot by armed police who are innocent of
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a crime: 11%
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Percentage of persons shot by armed private citizens who are
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innocent of a crime: 2%
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Now, let's look a Florida's crime rate. We already know that
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Florida concealed-carry-weapons licensees aren't a problem. But
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is there any other change in the Florida crime statistics
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since they instituted their new carry law?
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Not a dramatic or conclusive one, but the crime trend in Florida
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is reversing. Note the following:
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CRIME IN THE UNITED STATES, the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.
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MURDER AND NON-NEGLIGENT MANSLAUGHTER
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Florida
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____________________________________________________________
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Year Total % Change Rate/100,000 % Change
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____ _____ ________ ____________ ________
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1990 1,379 -1.9 10.7 -3.6
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1989 1,405 11.1
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1989 1,405 - .8 11.1 -2.6
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1988 1,416 11.4
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1988 1,416 +3.3 11.4 ----
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1987 1,371 11.4
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1987 1,371 ---- 11.4 -2.6
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1986 1,371 11.7
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1986 1,371 +5.8 11.7 +2.6
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1985 1,296 11.4
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**********************************************************
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Which shows that homicide, the most serious of the offenses,
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has been in a downward trend in Florida during the period when
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the number of private persons legally carrying firearms is
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increasing.
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HCI responded by charging that the homicide figures weren't
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telling, because rape and assault were still rising.
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Well, they aren't anymore. The trend has started to reverse.
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VERBATIM STATISTICS ON VIOLENT CRIME IN FLORIDA, 1991:
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MURDER DOWN 8%
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w/Handguns DOWN 3.9%
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w/firearms DOWN 15.4%
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w/knives DOWN 5.2%
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w/hands/fists/feet DOWN 14.1%
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Other DOWN 17.9%
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ROBBERY DOWN 1.7%
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w/Handgun UP 0.6%
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w/firearms DOWN 10.3
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w/knives DOWN 6.6%
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w/hands/fists/feet DOWN 0.6%
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Other DOWN 4.6%
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AGGRAVATED ASSAULT DOWN 1.7%
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w/handgun DOWN 5.9%
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w/firearms DOWN 9.4%
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w/knives DOWN 3.4%
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w/hands/fists/feet UP 5.5%
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Other UP 1.3%
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BURGLARY DOWN 3.8%
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w/forced entry DOWN 2.0%
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no forced entry DOWN 9.5%
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Attempted entry DOWN 5.3%
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PURSE SNATCHING DOWN 7.3%
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Now lets look at some NON-VIOLENT CRIMES from the same 1991
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Annual Report:
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LARCENY UP 3.1%
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Pocket Picking UP 1.0%
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Shoplifting UP 4.8%
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Theft from Coin Machines UP 11.4%
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Motor Vehicle Theft UP 1.5%
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DRUGS: Sale Overall UP 11.0%
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Cocaine sale UP 11.3
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Marijuana sale UP 34.3
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FRAUD UP 0.7%
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Credit Card/ATM UP 16.2%
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Impersonation UP 9.0%
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Welfare UP 45.5%
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Wire (telephone fraud) UP 87.5%
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Crooks in Florida do seem to be avoiding occasions where they
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might run into an armed citizen. I would say that while it is
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not conclusive, there is as much statistical weight at this
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point to the proposition that increasing the number of firearms
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being carried by the civilian population inhibits violent
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crime, as there is to the statistical linkage between cigarette
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smoking and heart disease or emphysema.
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It is indisputable that the Florida concealed-carry firearms
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law has not turned Florida into the Gunshine State, as HCI and
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CBS News predicted in 1986.
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It is indisputable that making ccw-licenses available to anyone
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who wants one and can pass an ordinary background check showing
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no criminal or psychological disqualification does not endanger
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the public.
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And it is getting statistically strong that increasing the
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ability of the civilian population to carry firearms reverses
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rising crime trends as well.
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What can we conclude from all this?
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1) Restricting firearms does not reduce the homicide rate. Look at
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Scotland and Washington D.C.
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2) Proliferating firearms does not increase the homicide rate. Look at
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Switzerland, Israel, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and the concealed-
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carry-weapons licensees in Florida.
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3) Civilians carrying firearms are more safe and effective at deterring
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crime than are professional police.
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My bottom line is my tagline:
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Gun Control=Victim Disarmament & Increases Violent Crime!
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**************************************************************************
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J. Neil Schulman is a novelist, screewriter and journalist living in
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California.
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