Another Mistake in The New York Times

Fox News ^ | February 5, 2011 | John R. Lott Jr.

[JohnRLott]

Since the tragedy in Tucson, the New York Times has started an all-out campaign for gun control, with a relentless number of pieces -- news, editorials, and op-eds. In its advocacy, even the news stories are heavily biased by selectively quoting only academics who support pro-gun control positions. These seemingly unbiased sources are then contrasted with opposing views from clearly biased people on the other side, such as an NRA spokesman or a right-wing politician. The implied conclusion: scientific evidence favors gun control, but self-interest stands in the way.

Take two recent news stories by Michael Luo (here and here). He quotes seven academics who agreed with the New York Times position, but no one on the other side was even interviewed. Talk about misrepresenting academic opinion. The overwhelming majority of studies actually supports the claim that more guns mean less crime. Among peer-reviewed studies in academic journals, criminologists and economists studying right-to-carry laws have produced 18 national studies showing that these laws reduce violent crime, 10 indicate no discernible effect and none finds a bad effect from the law. One would never guess that 294 academics from institutions as diverse as Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, the University of Pennsylvania, and UCLA released an open letter to Congress during 1999 warning that new gun laws were “ill advised.”

A frequent claim in these recent New York Times articles has been that more guns mean more gun deaths (see also here). . .

[de.rm]

I like Chris Rocks idea ,

"Bullet control, if a bullet costs $5000, no more Innocent bystanders, if someone gets shot, everybody will say, damn, he must'a done something, they just put $50,000 worth of bullets in his a$$!

[de.rm]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db0Y4qIZ4PA&NR=1

[Gargantua]

Chris Rock is a vile arch-liberal tool of Satan, like most of his Hollywood commie cabal. Anyone who watches him, much less "likes" him, probably has some unresolved conservative issues. You wouldn't be a Lib Troll, would you?

$5,000 a bullet sounds like a good idea to you? 'Nuff said.

Thanks for the tip-off.

;-\

[umgud]

There are three things we know as absolute fact;

1. Violent crime has been trending down for several years.
2. 2009 was a banner year for gun sales.
3. Volent crime was again down for 2009.

We can argue till the cows come home as to weather or not more guns = less crime, but it cannot be argued that more guns = more crime.

[Leo Carpathian]

Bloooomberg banning salt, smoking in the parks...
coming soon: ban on forks and knives
RATs can breathe for free

[BenKenobi]

How not to get your *** kicked by the police?

The man has done a public service for us all.

[nitzy]

I like the idea of making it cost $5000 to watch a Chris Rock routine.

[PLD]

If you don’t like guns then move to England they can’t have them..or any of your other countries..Since here we have the right to have guns..So go blow it out your ear moron..

“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own homestead, his possessions are undisturbed.” Luke 11:21

“And He said to them, ‘But now, let him who has a purse take it along, likewise also a bag, and let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one.’” Luke 22:36

“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country...”
and,
“Americans need never fear their government because of the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation.” James Madison.

[de.rm]

He's speakin' the truth most pure & metaphorically, that's all.

Some kids "can't handle the truth!{w/o water & pablum}

No , Mr. Namecaller, I'm just a normal person, I don't live under a bridge or in a van down by the river.

[Slings and Arrows]

A couple of articles in the Times point to a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine survey claiming that those who carry guns are far likelier to get shot—and killed—than those who are unarmed. This fails to ask why people carry guns in the first place.

When people who should know better confuse correlation and causation I begin to suspect their objectivity.

[Psycho_Bunny]

I respect your thinking and agree with your point of view.

But I think you've misused the word "tragedy". An Act of God that takes innocent life is a "tragedy" - what happened in Tuscan was mass murder or "murders".

[lp boonie]

I like Chris Rocks idea
__________________________________
You are going to get flamed by all the FR’s with no sense of humor but it is a funny routine. Some hardcores won’t believe it but you can actually be a conservative and laugh at liberal comedy and not be a socialist.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

One columnist, Nicholas Kristof, claimed that in the seven years after Australia banned some types of handguns and rifles "the firearm homicide rate was almost halved." But note that he does not point to overall homicides. He has good reason to avoid that statistic, as there was no decline in overall homicides during that period. Criminals simply shifted to other ways of killing their victims.

Wouldn't it be pertinent to point out that the firearm homicide rate should have been 0%, not 50%, if the ban were based on reality and logic. Banning firearms to eliminate gun related crime assumes that only law abiding people commit crimes. Typical liberal logic.

[Lazamataz]

You are a Communist for saying that.

[de.rm]

Chris Rock is a conservative & lives in New Jersey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4xg4v54S2o&NR=1

[Lazamataz]

You are a Nazi for saying that.

[Lazamataz]

You are a Mennonite for saying that.

[lp boonie]

You are a Communist for saying that.
_________________________
Cuaght me. Damn.

[Lazamataz]

You are Irish for saying that.