Excellent analysis, and a challenge, from Joe Huffman at The View From North Central Idaho:
My “one question” is this:
Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?
There are three possible answers to this question.
1. “I don’t know.” In which case my response is, “Come back to the debate when you can answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.”
2. “No.” In which case my response is, “Then you should be advocating the repeal of ALL gun control laws and I don’t want to hear a single anti-freedom word from you on this topic again.”
3. “Yes and here is my demonstration.”I have researched this fairly extensively and I can’t find the data to support a “Yes“ answer. I have asked a lot of people this question and I haven’t yet heard a “Yes” answer demonstrated. In October of 2003 the CDC released a study on this topic and couldn’t come up with a “Yes” answer either. I’m not the slightest bit worried someone will be able to come up with a defensible “Yes”.
If you are someone that has a “Yes” answer and believe you can conclusively demonstrate that then write it up and email it to me.
I agree with his statements. If there is anyone that can reasonably show that average people have become safer since the introduction of strict gun control then I, also, will give you space here at this blog as well.
There is plenty of data available on the subject, some of which is listed in my left sidebar. The data always shows that the average person is subjected to more crime, and more harmful crime, with each restriction on their ability to carry (open of concealed) a handgun in public.
The data also shows conclusively that those persons that do legally carry (open of concealed) a handgun in public are some of the most law-abiding people on the planet – they want to be left alone, they will leave you alone, but they will defend themselves and their loved ones.
The data also shows that there has never been any meaningful reduction in the illegal use of handguns with the adoption of gun control measures because … gasp … criminals do not obey the law. The only gun control that will happen is that only the lawless will have access to guns while the law-abiding will become disarmed.
But don’t take my word for it, and don’t take Joe Huffman’s word for it. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions.
