Lawyer Promotes Anti-Gun Concealed Carry Myth

Lawyer Jack D’Aurora penned an op-ed in the Columbus Dispatch claiming that gun ownership causes more crime. Here’s two of his quotes:

“Mark Duggan of the University of Chicago estimates that 500,000 guns are stolen annually. Stolen guns mean more gun violence.”

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“Some research shows that as guns become more available to law-abiding citizens, crime increases and additional problems are created.”

Since 2001, the average homicide rate for Right-to-Carry (RTC) states–whose liberal laws enable law-abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns–declined 12.8%, compared to 3.3% for non-RTC states. Moreover, the difference in violent crime rates between RTC and non-RTC states increased over time, as shown in the chart below.

The following chart shows a similar trend for murder.

Moreover, rates have been trending downwards in RTC states while remaining level in non-RTC states.

My research shows that concealed carry licensees are far more law-abiding than the adult non-licensee population, among states reporting convictions. In Texas, non-licensees commit FBI major crimes (e.g. murder, burglary) 9.6 times more often than licensees. Florida, Minnesota and Michigan have similar results.

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Bottom line: If the general public were as law-abiding as concealed carry licensees, there would be a 98% drop in FBI major crime, with billions of dollars saved each year in related costs to victims and society. Putting it in context, such savings equals about 40% of a state’s education budget.

Since 2000, Americans have bought over 5 million firearms annually. According to this law lobbyist’s rhetoric, RTC states should be more violent. But that’s the difference between rhetoric and reality.

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