Difference between revisions of "John R. Lott"
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| − | '''John Lott''' (b. 1958) is a scholar who published his research demonstrating that an increase in gun ownership results in a reduction in crime, because guns save more lives through deterrence and self-defense than they kill. | + | '''John Lott''' (b. 1958) is a scholar who published his research demonstrating that an increase in gun ownership results in a reduction in crime, because guns save more lives through deterrence and self-defense than they kill.<ref>http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/493636.html</ref> The title of his 1999 book, which became a class on the issue of guns, is "More Guns, Less Crime."<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=K6dIvTFsDMkC&dq=John+R+Lott&prev=http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=%22John+Lott%22&btnG=Google+Search&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=2&cad=author-navigational Lott's book on Google Books]</ref> |
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| + | As Lott explained in an interview concerning his book:<ref>http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/493636.html</ref> | ||
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| + | :Criminals are deterred by higher penalties. Just as higher arrest and conviction rates deter crime, so does the risk that someone committing a crime will confront someone able to defend him or herself. There is a strong negative relationship between the number of law-abiding citizens with permits and the crime rate—as more people obtain permits there is a greater decline in violent crime rates. For each additional year that a concealed handgun law is in effect the murder rate declines by 3 percent, rape by 2 percent, and robberies by over 2 percent. | ||
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| + | :Concealed handgun laws reduce violent crime for two reasons. First, they reduce the number of attempted crimes because criminals are uncertain which potential victims can defend themselves. Second, victims who have guns are in a much better position to defend themselves. | ||
Lott also observed how large newspapers and major media outlets consistently underreported the defensive use of guns to save lives. He found that factual accounts of the defensive use of guns would be reported in small rural newspapers but omitted from stories in larger papers, and stories that appeared days or weeks later.<ref>http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/</ref> | Lott also observed how large newspapers and major media outlets consistently underreported the defensive use of guns to save lives. He found that factual accounts of the defensive use of guns would be reported in small rural newspapers but omitted from stories in larger papers, and stories that appeared days or weeks later.<ref>http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/</ref> | ||
Revision as of 20:49, December 16, 2007
John Lott (b. 1958) is a scholar who published his research demonstrating that an increase in gun ownership results in a reduction in crime, because guns save more lives through deterrence and self-defense than they kill.[1] The title of his 1999 book, which became a class on the issue of guns, is "More Guns, Less Crime."[2]
As Lott explained in an interview concerning his book:[3]
- Criminals are deterred by higher penalties. Just as higher arrest and conviction rates deter crime, so does the risk that someone committing a crime will confront someone able to defend him or herself. There is a strong negative relationship between the number of law-abiding citizens with permits and the crime rate—as more people obtain permits there is a greater decline in violent crime rates. For each additional year that a concealed handgun law is in effect the murder rate declines by 3 percent, rape by 2 percent, and robberies by over 2 percent.
- Concealed handgun laws reduce violent crime for two reasons. First, they reduce the number of attempted crimes because criminals are uncertain which potential victims can defend themselves. Second, victims who have guns are in a much better position to defend themselves.
Lott also observed how large newspapers and major media outlets consistently underreported the defensive use of guns to save lives. He found that factual accounts of the defensive use of guns would be reported in small rural newspapers but omitted from stories in larger papers, and stories that appeared days or weeks later.[4]
Some liberals have attempted to find flaws in Lott's work.[5]
One professor, Michael Bellesiles, wrote a book supportive of the gun control position that was entitled Arming America, The Origins of a National Gun Culture (2000). Gary Wills praised it in The New York Times, but admitted later that "I was took. The book is a fraud."[6] Bellesiles resigned from his position as Professor of History at Emory University in Atlanta when an independent committee of scholars examined his work and concluded that "his scholarly integrity is seriously in question."[7]
References
- ↑ http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/493636.html
- ↑ Lott's book on Google Books
- ↑ http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/493636.html
- ↑ http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/
- ↑ http://islandia.law.yale.edu/ayers/Ayres_Donohue_comment.pdf
- ↑ Jonah Goldberg, Reports of the 2nd Amendment's death have been greatly exaggerated ... Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Apr. 8, 2007.
- ↑ http://hnn.us/articles/1069.html
