WOULD BANNING FIREARMS REDUCE MURDER AND SUICIDE?

[WatchManUSA]

http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf

Perhaps this has been posted before but I just ran across it. If been having discussions with some anti's after the shooting at the DC Navy Yard.

From the paper:

Whether causative or not, the consistent international pattern is that more guns equal less murder and other violent crime. Even if one is inclined to think that gun availability is an important factor, the available international data cannot be squared with the mantra that more guns equal more death and fewer guns equal less death. Rather, if firearms availability does matter, the data consistently show that the way it matters is that more guns equal less violent crime.

And...

The “more guns equal more death” mantra seems plausible only when viewed through the rubric that murders mostly in‐ volve ordinary people who kill because they have access to a firearm when they get angry. If this were true, murder might well increase where people have ready access to firearms, but the available data provides no such correlation. Nations and areas with more guns per capita do not have higher murder rates than those with fewer guns per capita.

“The vast majority of persons involved in life threatening violence have a long criminal record with many prior contacts with the justice system.” “Thus homicide—[whether] of a stranger or [of] someone known to the offender—‘is usually part of a pattern of violence, engaged in by people who are known . . . as violence prone.’” Though only 15% of Americans over the age of 15 have arrest records, approximately 90 percent of “adult murderers have adult records, with an average adult criminal career [involving crimes committed as an adult rather than a child] of six or more years, including four major adult felony arrests.” These national statistics dovetail with data from local nineteenth and twentieth century studies. For example: victims as well as offenders [in 1950s and 1960s Philadelphia murders] . . . tended to be people with prior police records, usually for violent crimes such as assault.”

[tombogan03884]

"WOULD BANNING FIREARMS REDUCE MURDER AND SUICIDE? "

It hasn't worked in Japan.
Their suicide rate is double ours.

[Solus]

It would have a chance of reducing murders and suicides by firearms......

But only a hoplophobe would see any distinction.

[kmitch200]

WOULD BANNING FIREARMS REDUCE MURDER AND SUICIDE?

Didn't seem to work with cavemen, ancient Egypt, the dark ages, etc., etc.

[WatchManUSA]

I 3don't know if you actually read the report but here is a line that answers the specific question: "...the data consistently show that the way it matters is that more guns equal less violent crime."

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

Long before the invention of gunpowder Rome had so many murders and robberies they had to invent the concept of municipal police.

[santahog]

In my mind, "No" on both points.
Murder would manifest itself in more dangerous streets/street crime/gangs and suicide works just as well in a car as it does in a bedroom, only more dangerous for bystanders..
Just my opinion..