Guns and Crime Flashcards
Objective Dangerousness Hypothesis
Gun availability increases gun violence
Guns may encourage crimes against those who seem invulnerable to challenge
Weapons empower criminals to coerce victim into compliance
Guns may facilitate element of surprise (greater distance from victim)
Self- defense hypothesis
Gun ownership is a deterrent
Citizens using guns in self defense outnumber criminals
People defending themselves with a gun are more likely to avoid injury and prevent completion of a crime
Violence is the cause of gun ownership, not a consequence
Legal vs Illegal gun availability
Most studies did not distinguish between legal and illegal gun availability
They rely on official statistics that UCR that do not report data on illegal guns
Very important distinction: stolen guns are typically employed by criminals in gun related crime
Solenberg and D’Alessio study
NIBRS data on violent crimes and gun-related crime rates in South Carolina, 1991-1994
Data aggregated at the county-level
Illegal gun availability- yearly number of guns reported stolen to police
Legal gun availability- yearly number of Concealed Weapons Permits issued
Solenberg and D’Alessio results
Strong positive effect of illegal gun ownership on Violent, Gun and Youth Crime Rates
No relationship between legal guns and crime (self defense hypothesis not supported)
No weapon substition effect (criminals don’t use knives due to limited gun accessibility)
Policy implications:
Encourage gun owners to better secure their guns at home (more than 50% of guns stored unlocked)
More law enforcement efforts to reduce gun theft
Limits of study
Ignores the effect of illegal gun markets
New challenge: Online gun sales
Is a rational debate possible?
2nd Amendment: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”
Collective or Individual Right?
Chief Justice Warren Burger: the new interpretation of the Second Amendment was “one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word ‘fraud,’ on the American public by special-interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime”
