At the Detroit News: Concealed weapons could save lives
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed in the Detroit News with Phil Green, who represents the 67th House District in Michigan and is the chair of the House Second Amendment Caucus.
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During the first quarter of 2023, Detroit had the fifth highest murder rate in the country, according to preliminary police department crime data compiled by WalletHub.
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Gun control advocates propose to help by banning people from carrying permitted concealed handguns in the city.
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Police are critical to stopping crime. Academic research shows that policing is probably the single most important factor in reducing it.
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But the police themselves realize that, even in normal times, they virtually always arrive on the crime scene after the crime has occurred.
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In 2013, police response times in Detroit averaged 50 minutes.
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By 2018, it was down to 12 minutes. Compare that to cities such as Los Angeles and New York, where the response times were 5.7 and 4.6 minutes.
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Even if a crime victim is able to make a call, 12 minutes is a long time when seconds matter.
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PoliceOne surveyed more than 15,000 police professionals across ranks and department sizes in 2013 and found that 91% percent of the members support liberally issued concealed handgun permits.
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The National Association of Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs are similarly supportive. Those are first responders who are on the scenes of these tragedies every day.
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Academic criminologists and economists who have published peer-reviewed research on guns also agree.
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Surveys show that they had the same top four preferred policies for stopping mass public shootings, and this included letting people carry concealed handguns and getting rid of gun-free zones.
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Concealed carry permit holders are remarkably law-abiding. In the 19 states with comprehensive data, the average revocation rate for any reason is about one-tenth of 1%.
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The data for Michigan is very similar. Permit holders are convicted of firearms-related violations at one-twelfth the rate of police officers.
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Research from the Crime Prevention Research Center has demonstrated that the two groups that benefit the most from carrying guns are the likeliest victims of crime — underprivileged Americans in high-crime, urban areas and people who are physically weaker such as women or the elderly.
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Murderers are deterred when people carry concealed handguns, be they man or woman.
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If you still aren’t convinced, just read the manifestos and diaries from mass public shooters about why they picked the targets that they do.
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The Biden administration has yet to release the Nashville school shooter’s manifesto, but Nashville Police Chief John Drake has seen it.
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“There was another location that was mentioned, but because of a threat assessment by the suspect of too much security, they decided not to,” said Drake.
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Unfortunately, no one at The Covenant School had a gun to fight back with.
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These murderers count on gun-free zones to ensure they will be the only armed person present. Last year, the Tops Friendly Markets shooter in Buffalo wrote in his manifesto: “Areas where CCW permits are outlawed or prohibited may be good areas of attack.”
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We have seen that in recent attacks on an Old National Bank in Louisville, an outlet mall in Allen, Texas and a hospital in Atlanta.
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Police are important. But if we are going to be serious about protecting vulnerable people, we have to let them protect themselves.
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Phil Green and John Lott Jr., “Concealed weapons could save lives,” Detroit News, May 23, 2023.
