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THE BIAS AGAINST GUNS: WHY ALMOST
EVERYTHING YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT GUN CONTROL IS WRONG
From Publishers
Weekly
Following up on his controversial study More Guns, Less Crime, economist
Lott argues that widespread gun ownership
prevents crime. He cites survey data and news reports to argue that
the fear that victims might be armed strongly deters criminals, and
that guns are used in self-defense or to ward off criminal threats
about 2.3 million times a year. Because they impede law-abiding citizens'
access to guns, even mild gun-control regulations-assault weapons
bans, "one-gun-a-month" laws-actually increase crime, according
to Lott, while right-to-carry laws lower crime and help prevent (or
violently terminate) terrorist attacks and "rampage" shootings.
Even measures to keep guns away from children, like "gun-free
school zones" and "safe storage" laws that require
guns to be locked away, are misguided because children need guns for
self-defense (he cites news reports of kids as young as 11 gunning
down criminals). The benefits of untrammeled gun availability are
clear, Lott insists, and only the anti-gun bias and selective reporting
by the media and government officials have kept this fact out of public
consciousness. Lott supports his bold claims with elaborate statistical
analyses that tease sometimes small effects out of the welter of factors
that influence crime rates; there are lots of graphs and tables, and
much space is devoted to scholarly discussions of statistical methodologies.
Many readers will find these sections rough going, but Lott's provocative
thesis is sure to stir interest among second-amendment stalwarts and
gun-control supporters alike.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Slicing through the emotional--but factually wrong--arguments of gun
control advocates this book busts a number of myths, demonstrating
with hard statistical data and riveting anecdotes.
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