Harvard Journal of Law: Gun Control doesn't reduce murder/suicide rate

[Samhain]

http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf

This Article has reviewed a significant amount of evidence
from a wide variety of international sources. Each individual
portion of evidence is subject to cavil—at the very least the
general objection that the persuasiveness of social scientific
evidence cannot remotely approach the persuasiveness of
conclusions in the physical sciences. Nevertheless, the bur‐
den of proof rests on the proponents of the more guns equal
more death and fewer guns equal less death mantra, espe‐
cially since they argue public policy ought to be based on
that mantra.149 To bear that burden would at the very least
require showing that a large number of nations with more
guns have more death and that nations that have imposed
stringent gun controls have achieved substantial reductions
in criminal violence (or suicide). But those correlations are
not observed when a large number of nations are compared
across the world.

Study also found that when guns are not available, other weapons are substituted. Quite a few good statistics found within.

 

[joG]

http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf
Study also found that when guns are not available, other weapons are substituted. Quite a few good statistics found within.

Thank you for mentioning the Study. I will read it.

Actually I looked at the numbers for North America and Europe a few years ago and found that the Hypothesis linking guns to numbers of homicides did not hold up. As I did not perform a full study with more factors as I would want for a social study, I would not call it a valid falsification. But it was enough for me to strongly believe that I would want to see very good science, before I would vote to forbid guns. It also convinced me that the anti gun people are talking pure belief and ideology.

 

[LaMidRighter]

http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf



Study also found that when guns are not available, other weapons are substituted. Quite a few good statistics found within.

Not surprising. When one is intent on either an attack or defense being successful they will use whatever means are at hand. This is just basic human nature IMO.

 

[Arbo]

I just read this elsewhere. I am shocked that the anti-gun folks have not come in to dispute it.

 

[LaMidRighter]

I just read this elsewhere. I am shocked that the anti-gun folks have not come in to dispute it.

I'm just surprised money was wasted spent studying the fact that people bring weapons to a fight, regardless of the nature of the weapon.

 

[EdwinWillers]

I just read this elsewhere. I am shocked that the anti-gun folks have not come in to dispute it.

What's there to dispute? I first saw it on Breitbart, which would have been the first thing they'd ridicule (without attempting an evaluation of the merits of the study itself); but when one is presented with the raw report itself, sans some 3rd person left-wing target, what can they say?

Maybe we should give them credit - that perhaps there do exist some on the gun-control side with a semblance of rational reasoning ability?

Meh, I'll believe it when I see it.