[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

This is certainly contradictory to other things I've heard about the effects of Concealed Carry on crime. Anyone know the political leanings of the National Academy of Sciences? The Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort?

[samtheman]

Car jackings have dropped to near-zero levels in states with concealed carry laws.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Does this press release jibe with ANYTHING you've heard about concealed carry?

[coloradan]

The NAS report also found no "increase" in crime as a result of CCW laws

In a rare moment of candor, the MMM admits the truth.

[ConservativeDude]

This may or may not be true; I don't know and don't particularly care. The interesting thing is, look who's on the defensive now! Used to be, we had to defend conceal carry saying that it won't increase crime (shootouts at stoplights and all that). Now, we are on the offense. The million mommies are on the defensive! I love it.

Bottom line: policy arguments come and go. The fact is that a law abiding citizen has an inalienable right to self defense, including the right to carry. That should be enough for most people.

[LauraleeBraswell]

I agree with that. How are criminals supposed to know you have a gun when it's concealed? Start carrying your gun on your belt right out in front, that will decrease crime.

[umgud]

The thrust of the story is wrong. It should at least state that blood in the streets didn't come about (as decried) when citizens were allowed to excersize their constitutional right.

[Coleus]

'No Credible Evidence' That Carrying Concealed Weapons Laws Decrease Crime >>>

So what, it still is a constitutional right. Not everyone attends church every Sunday, or life saintly lives, shall we get abolish the freedom of religion?

[SWake]

To me, the most interesting part of these revelations that concealed carry laws don't cut down on the crime rate is that these same fellows were recently claiming that blood would be running in the streets if they allow citizens to carry concealed firearms.

So it seems they now believe that concealed carry does no harm.

[IronJack]

Notice that the gun-grabbers are now on the defensive. It used to be taken for granted (at least by them) that guns CAUSED crime. Now they're forced to argue that guns don't necessarily PREVENT crime.

This is a sea change in tactics, and it basically means we've got them on the ropes. Time to close in for the knockout.

By the way, John Lott's study IS credible evidence.

[Future Snake Eater]

Scientifically, I'm sure there's no credible evidence. "Correlation does not imply causality," but in this case, you can make a pretty dang good assumption.

[Spok]

"Sciences said researchers need accurate data on the number of guns manufactured and distributed, access to crime gun trace data, and more information on patterns of gun ownership and types of weapons owned in order to adequately assess policies to reduce and prevent gun violence."

They need to talk to Professor Lott-he has this information. According to the FBI, violent crime is down. Tying cause and effect is where the politics tend to take over.

[yarddog]

So many things affect crime rates that it would be just about impossible to say conclusively that concealed weapons laws have a positive or negative effect.

I strongly believe that the presence of guns reduces crime but if the rate drops with the increase in guns being carried, who can say for sure if some other reason caused it.

There are quite a few studies which show a very large number of crimes are averted by citizens with guns and almost none make the police reports, Thus they will not factor in a lot of studies.

[yooper]

"A new report released from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), "Firearms and Violence," found "no credible evidence" that carrying concealed weapons laws decrease crime."

IOW, no liberal has yet admitted it. There is evidence A-PLENTY that CCW states have lowered certain crime stats, such as car-jackings and muggings.

[mvpel]

You can be certain if there was even the slightest sliver of evidence that it INCREASED violent crime, they'd be shouting it from the rooftops. This tends to suggest that they didn't find any evidence of that, either.

While this question is irrelavant in the face of the fundamental basic human right to self-defense that is at the basis of concealed carry laws, these researchers may also be only looking at overall crime rates, rather than rates of specific types of confrontational crime.

If - because of concealed carry laws - a criminal decides to burglarize two empty houses instead of robbing a single person at knifepoint, the "crime rate" has increased, but I'd rather see a dozen cold burglaries than a single armed robbery.

[LurkedLongEnough]

They forgot to include:

"The consensus of the scientific community is that there is no credible evidence that aliens have ever visited Earth."

[groanup]

Nothing states the methods used, the samples, the time period. On the other hand John Lott and others have huge volumes of research that show increases in CC lowers crime.

I know Lott and Kleck's work is genuine. What is this?

[Blood of Tyrants]

But on the other hand, there is absolutely NOTHING that even remotely suggests that crime went up among CCW carriers. So, it CCW carriers are not a problem, then why do anything to "fix" it?

[tang-soo]

Like to hear the response of these neighbors in Hartford, WI - JPFO www.jpfo.org

[stylin19a]

The report, which examined a host of gun violence prevention measures including CCW laws, called for a comprehensive national effort to collect accurate data on gun ownership and gun violence incidents in order to evaluate the effectiveness of gun violence prevention measures. The National Academy of Sciences said researchers need accurate data on the number of guns manufactured and distributed, access to crime gun trace data, and more information on patterns of gun ownership and types of weapons owned in order to adequately assess policies to reduce and prevent gun violence

They need more evidence to adequately assess policies to reduce and prevent gun violence,
but they have enough evidence to declare that there is "no credible evidence" that CCW Laws decrease Crime ?

In the immortal words of James Traficant..."Beam me up Scotty..."

[groanup]

John Lott on the NAS report:

http://johnrlott.tripod.com/op-eds/LATimesNASFirearms.html