On Coast to Coast AM: To Discuss Gun Rights
Dr. John Lott talked to George Noory on his national radio show for two hours about the gun situation in the United States.
From the write-up at Coast to Coast AM.
In the first half, John R. Lott, activist, and founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center, discussed his latest work researching the data surrounding gun crime and pending gun control legislation. Reacting to the statistic that there have been around 400 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, he commented that 87% of them are “basically gang fights” related to drugs and that the mass shootings that garner so much publicity are just “five or six or seven or eight of those a year.” The mass shooters typically choose places “where their victims are not allowed to go and defend themselves,” he said. For instance, the Nashville school shooter had chosen a mall apparently as his first target but decided not to go there because he realized it had armed guards and that civilians could carry concealed, so he picked the school instead, Lott detailed.
As far as crime reduction, beyond law enforcement and tougher sentencing, the private ownership of guns can serve as a deterrent, according to Lott. The police get there almost always after a crime occurs, so it makes sense for people to defend themselves, and it’s generally the most vulnerable people in our society, who benefit the most from owning guns, he added. Lott cited details from Mexico which has severe gun control laws and only one gun store in the whole nation, yet the country has a huge problem with illegally owned guns, and their murder rate has doubled. Lott was critical of polls and surveys conducted in America about crime and guns, which he believes skew their results by the way the questions are formulated. He also commented on controversies surrounding government regulations on “pistol braces,” which have been used in several mass shootings.
The Coast to Coast AM national radio show is heard weekly by 7.75 million people. Here is a list of Dr. Lott’s past long-form appearances on Coast to Coast.
(Tuesday, July 25, 2023, from 1:00 to 3:00 AM ET)
