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Reduce Firearm Ownership, Say Anti-Gun Researchers

Friday, August 21, 2015

Reduce Firearm Ownership, Say Anti-Gun Researchers

A new “study” by David Swedler, trained at the (gun control crusader Michael) Bloomberg School of Public Health, and co-authored by longtime anti-gun researcher David Hemenway, of the Harvard School of Public Health, uses rigged methodology to conclude that law enforcement officers are more likely to be murdered in states that have higher levels of gun ownership. As a result, Swedler and Hemenway say, “States could consider methods for reducing firearm ownership as a way to reduce occupational deaths of LEOs.”

In what may be the understatement of the century, Swedler and Hemenway concede that it’s “possible” that law enforcement officers are more likely to be murdered than other Americans because they have “more frequent encounters with motivated violent offenders.” To say the least. According to the FBI, from 2004 to 2013, 46 percent of officer murderers had prior arrests for crimes of violence, 63 percent had been convicted on prior criminal charges, 50 percent had received probation or parole for prior criminal charges, and 26 percent were under judicial supervision, including probation, parole, and conditional release, at the time of the officers’ murders.

On the other hand, Swedler and Hemenway say, law enforcement officers are able to defend themselves because they carry handguns, an argument that on its face endorses the carrying of handguns by private citizens, which is certainly not what the anti-gunners intended.

In painstaking academic detail, economist John Lott shows that Swedler and Hemenway skewed their study by comparing the number of law enforcement officers murdered with firearms in each state, to the percentage of suicides committed with firearms in each state, pretending that the latter accurately measures each state’s level of gun ownership. Additionally, the anti-gun researchers didn’t extend their comparisons over time to determine whether law enforcement officer murders increased or decreased in each state or did so in comparison to other states. 

The anti-gunners also try to measure gun ownership with survey data, which is problematic, because over-reporting takes place in states where people are more supportive of gun ownership, while under-reporting takes place in states where anti-gun viewpoints are more common.

For the obvious reason, Swedler and Hemenway didn’t point out that law enforcement officer murders have been decreasing while ownership of firearms has been increasing dramatically. From 1993 to 2013, the most recent year of data from the FBI and BATFE, the annual number of law enforcement officers feloniously killed with firearms dropped 61 percent, while the American people acquired 140 million new firearms. In 2013, the number of law enforcement officers feloniously killed with firearms was less than half the annual average of the last 20 years.

That, however, is not what you want to point out if you’re jockeying for a cut of the $10 million that President Obama has asked Congress (p. 8) to throw at so-called “gun violence research” or to continue to promote an anti-gun agenda.

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Florida: House Passes Constitutional Carry

Friday, March 24, 2023

Florida: House Passes Constitutional Carry

Today, the House voted 76-32 to pass House Bill 543, the constitutional carry bill.

Seattle’s Gun Tax: A Textbook Case on the Law of Inverse Consequences

News  

Monday, March 27, 2023

Seattle’s Gun Tax: A Textbook Case on the Law of Inverse Consequences

The law of inverse or unintended consequences refers to outcomes that are the reverse of the planned or expected results. As described in another context, “the law of unintended consequences could create a perverse effect contrary to ...

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

News  

Monday, January 30, 2023

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

On Monday, January 30, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) published the final Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces” rule for public inspection in the federal register.

Florida: Senate Passes Constitutional Carry

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Florida: Senate Passes Constitutional Carry

Today, the Senate voted 27-13 to pass House Bill 543, the constitutional carry bill received from the House last week.

North Carolina: VETO OVERRIDDEN

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

North Carolina: VETO OVERRIDDEN

Today, March 29, the House voted 71-46 to override Governor Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 41, a bill that recognizes law-abiding citizens’ right to self-defense while attending a church with a school attached and also repeals the ...

Florida: Senate’s Constitutional Carry Passes Committee

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Florida: Senate’s Constitutional Carry Passes Committee

Today, the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee voted 11-6 to approve Senate Bill 150, constitutional carry, with an amendment aligning the language with the House’s version. It will now go to the full Senate for further consideration.

Biden’s Executive Order Targeting Gun Ownership

News  

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Biden’s Executive Order Targeting Gun Ownership

On Tuesday, Joe Biden issued an executive order on gun control that could accurately be described as a mile wide and an inch deep.

Nebraska: Constitutional Carry PASSED Second Vote, ONE MORE VOTE TO GO

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Nebraska: Constitutional Carry PASSED Second Vote, ONE MORE VOTE TO GO

Today the Nebraska Legislature voted 31-10 to pass Legislative Bill 77, “LB 77” by Senator Tom Brewer, the constitutional carry bill on Select File.  This bill recognizes the fundamental right of law-abiding adults to carry firearms for ...

Colorado: Assault Weapon Ban Committee Hearing Scheduled!

Monday, March 27, 2023

Colorado: Assault Weapon Ban Committee Hearing Scheduled!

On March 29, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on House Bill 23-1230 (“HB 23-1230”), which bans the manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of what the drafters have defined as ...

Florida: 2023 Session Convened, Senate Committee Hearing Constitutional Carry

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Florida: 2023 Session Convened, Senate Committee Hearing Constitutional Carry

Yesterday, March 7th, the Florida Legislature began the 2023 legislative session. Tomorrow, at 9:00AM, the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee will hear Senate Bill 150, the Senate’s constitutional carry bill.

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Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.