Hmmm... John Lott. Isn't he the one who advocates that adults should carry guns into the school?
University of Chicago Professor John Lott's "More Guns Less Crime", claims that allowing civilians to carry concealed weapons reduces crime. This conclusion runs counter to the bulk of refereed research which shows a direct relationship, among developed countries, between the rate of gun ownership and firearm death. In fact, Lott's study has been widely critiqued by academics, such as Dr. Daniel Webster from the John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, who cited several methodological and factual flaws, and errors in the statistical models used in the analysis.
You talk about Switzerland:
Switzerland: Opponents of gun control often use Switzerland as evidence that access to guns is not linked to crime or violence. They argue that since virtually all adult males are members of the army and have military weapons, there is nearly universal access to deadly weapons yet few gun-related problems in Switzerland. However, Swiss criminologist Martin Killias, of the Université de Lausanne, argues that the rate of households with firearms is actually comparable to that of Canada (27.2%). There is strict screening of army officers and ammunition is stored in sealed boxes and inspected regularly. Despite these controls, Switzerland has rates of gun suicide second only to the US among the countries Killias surveyed and a gun murder rate comparable to Canada's. Although firearms regulations in Switzerland is fragmented and controlled at the regional level, wide ranging reforms are being undertaken to establish national standards.
Also, see my next post to Ish. United States happens to be the lone ranger in use of guns. Even in Switzerland, they are not fanatic about guns. |
