Does More Guns Make You Safer – Tale of Two Cities
April 20, 2007 · By Greg Farries
Before some of you go crazy about the correlation/causation issue of gun ownership vs. crime rate, I figured this recent Worldnet article would be interesting to those on both sides of the gun control debate:
In March 1982, 25 years ago, the small town of Kennesaw – responding to a handgun ban in Morton Grove, Ill. – unanimously passed an ordinance requiring each head of household to own and maintain a gun. Since then, despite dire predictions of “Wild West” showdowns and increased violence and accidents, not a single resident has been involved in a fatal shooting – as a victim, attacker or defender.
The crime rate initially plummeted for several years after the passage of the ordinance, with the 2005 per capita crime rate actually significantly lower than it was in 1981, the year before passage of the law.
The Wikipedia article on Guns and Crime, does a fairly good job of outlining the debate over guns and their impact on crime rates (however, the article concentrates more on homicides, than crime).
A surprising statistic, found in the Wikipedia article, was that Switzerland has fully automatic assault rifles in 14% of homes.
Greg: The Swiss have mandatory military service which explains their high possession of assault rifles.
The Swiss example may be more of an argument for mandatory military service than for 2nd Amendment types. Incidently, the 2nd amendment was written with civil militias in mind.
Greg: Check this out:
http://www.latimes.com/news/op.....-rightrail
Great find, Greg.
I have always contended similarly that if you purposely arm the law-abiding, or at least allow sane, law-abiding citizens to arm themselves, then crime rates would plummet. The difference in violent crime rates between states that allow conceal and carry and those which do not testifies to this truth.
I think Tom makes a good point about militias: freedom to own guns but with responsibility to country, beyond just trigger locks and gun cabinets.
Legislators need to consider what makes for civil society beyond the narrow dogmatic confines of multicult, tolerance and equality; as though these alone, if we just believe hard enough in their potentiality and goodness, will save us from ourselves, dawning a new age for mankind.
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