By David Codrea
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- A purported study “claiming right-to-carry laws increase violent crime” is “flawed and misleading,” an assessment by Crime Prevention Research Center responds. Yet despite serious concerns over methodology and bias, the media is spreading it far and wide, negatively influencing public perceptions on the right to bear arms.
“It has been covered in Newsweek, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, Vice, Snopes, and many newspapers such as Newsday and the Salt Lake City Tribune,” the research and education organization headed by economist and author John Lott observes. “As is typical … there is no attempt to mention or respond to prior criticisms, and he just repeats the same, seriously biased methods and errors.
“[W]hen the media explicitly describes a study as ‘debunking’ John Lott’s previous research, you might think a reporter would call up Lott and get his take on it,” CPRC further observes. “It has been two weeks after the … research started getting attention, and not a single reporter has contacted him.”
While telling, that’s hardly surprising. Monopoly of violence agitators and their media amplifiers have had the long knives out for Lott ever since he definitively challenged the gun-grabber orthodoxy and demonstrated “More Guns, Less Crime” is more than a title. His follow-on work, “The Bias Against Guns” definitively demonstrated how the last sources to be trusted for accurate and complete information comprise the supposedly “objective” press.
“Since permit holders commit virtually no crimes, right-to-carry laws can’t increase violent crime rates,” CPRC explains, citing a glaring “flaw” in the “study” that goes unmentioned in media accounts. “You can’t get the 1.5 to 20 percent increases in violent crime rates that a few of their estimates claim with only thousandths of one percent of permit holders committing violent crimes. To put it differently, states would have to be misreporting 99%+ of crimes committed by permit holders for their results to be possible.”
That hardly matters to those with plenty of lucrative funding incentives to crank out the junk science, and to cheerleader “journalists” who know that most “consumers” will never be exposed to a critical analysis of the canned narrative they’re parroting. Once the headlines have been absorbed, reinforced biases will make unquestioning voters receptive to politicians promising more disarmament legislation.
That’s why it is critical for gun owner rights advocates to realize they will never get a fair shake in the media. If they want the truth to get out, it’s up to them to act as force multipliers and share links using whatever means at hand, including emails and social media.
If you don’t, no one else will.
Tangentially related:
Florida Carry Takes Norman Open Carry Case to U.S. Supreme Court
“A Florida gun group has filed an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court in a case dealing with how Florida regulates open carry for weapons and firearms. On Monday, Florida Carry Inc. filed an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dale Norman vs. Florida case, a case revolving around how Florida regulates concealed weapons permit holders and the accidental brandishing of firearms.”
This will be one to watch. “Intermediate scrutiny” is an insult. Stephen P. Halbrook is among the best. The question now is “Will SCOTUS agree to hear it?”
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.
In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
I would call an incident well out of my West Texas property we’re the only radio station in English I could pick up was, NPR. ( I know, I shudder still, thinking back to the untrue crap spewing out of their mouths?) This one particular segment was being reported from out of the Washington DC office of NPR office making a claim that it is illegal for regular citizena anywhere in the country to own full adamatic weapons and silencers? I contacted the local general manager of the NPR radio in my area and I questioned her about that statement… Read more »
George Romeu – Of course you and she both left out that to own either you have to have a special license (tax stamp) and it is regulated. Minor detail right?????
It’s, “Gregory”, but that’s okay, you missed the spelling of my name as easily as you missed the point in fact of the entire radio announcement and follow up questioning of the gross in accuracy of the announcement, The fact is, YES! A law-abiding American citizen CAN in fact own a fully automatic weapon and / or silencers. Just a side note: An American citizen can also own an that cost up to tens of thousands of dollars or hundreds of thousands of dollars and you have to pay for registration, taxes and insurance which could run way up to… Read more »
“Can also own a CAR” was the tag line. Gamut when are we going to be able to go back and and be able to EDIT our messages?
My post was meant for “GIL”
>>> Oldmarine
Think about how many years the media promoted the kellerman study! It was believed by many until the internet became widespread, and the basic glaring lies were exposed. It is a lot harder to push the propaganda than it was back when tv and newspaper media controlled all info – especially thanks to authors like codrea.
WELL MY COMMENT WILL NOT BE PUBLIC SO I WILL NOT SAY ANYTHING!!!!!!
so a gun that can’t move, talk, see, just lays around is the end of the world with a
David,
Have you ever compared this kind of propaganda (pretending to be ‘research’) with Climate Change ‘research’ — see, I think the Scientific field has been ruined by Marxists.
WELL if you take at DEMOCRATIC run states where GUN control already is in force like Chicago !!!
OR PLACE WITH THE SOCIALIST COMMUNIST DEMOCRATIC LIBERALS AGENDA, THEY HAVE BRAINS OF A NATURAL IDIOT!! Hence you have Crime out of control, But get rid of Guns. An inadament object which can’t
WALK,TALK, SEE ,OR MOVE, without HUMAN, help. DOES NOTHING BUT LAY’S AROUND DOING NOTHING!!!!
Makes we wonder really how we as HUMANS are this stupid to think GUNS DO ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!
when PEOPLE ARE THE ONES DOING CRIME NOT GUNS!!!!!!!
The goal isn’t to make people safe but to make people feel safe hence they prefer to own guns and fantasize about blowing criminals away.
@Gil – if your post was true you would not be here to make it!
@Mac, I just read something so funny that I choked on my coffee! That author probably thinks that the myth of police protection or police response times are more comforting. Need I remind anyone that when a shooting call comes in, it serves everyone that the police should stop at every stop sign, and obey every traffic law, thus not putting the public in danger. When the police arrive at the appropriate scene, they take a report, list the witnesses, and turn the scene over to the coroner. It serves the police department, the mayor and city council, the driving… Read more »
@Wild Bill, or maybe not so many moving parts and that’s the problem!!!
@wildbill. Well, you got the funeral home and personnel all the way down to the Hallmark card company, flower companies, casket companies, burial vault manufacturers, people to transport all the equipment to put the body in or crematorium and urn manufacturing. Then you have the people at the cemetery that have to open and close the graves, then take care of the gravesite, lawn service and such. Then you have the newspaper obituaries that have to be written and published. And don’t forget the radio and TV media that have to report the incident in the follow-up investigation or the… Read more »
@GR, See everyone is a winner on slow police calls, except… Whose is the loser again? Oh, yeah, the unarmed innocent victim.
Let me guess: You believe almost all (or all?) the Defensive Gun Uses (DGUs) are fabricated by the “gun lobby” and very few or no citizens lawfully bearing arms stop criminals in the act of committing crimes via DGUs (approximately 99% of which do NOT involve firing the weapon).
So those people who claim to have stopped a criminal from robbing, or assaulting, or raping, or murdering them via DGU are all deluded or liars or what?
Yep. Most “defensive” gun uses to pad the numbers into millions amounts to either lying or waving a gun around in non-violent confrontations.
@Gil – I’d call you an IDIOT, but that would be a disservice to idiots everywhere!
Don’t even waste your time and good sense replying to gillie baby. He still thinks he is on a ‘fashion for ladies’ page on Huffpo.. Thats the only one that his mom lets him read in the basement.
@VT Pat, Yes, that author, now, knows all of the facts in all of the instances of defensive firearms uses. He has studied each instance; can discuss each of them cogently; and has formed a considered opinion of the reported statistics. I am so tired of the leftist Anti-Civil Rights crowd, just… making up false facts and fake news. They think that they can fool everyone and achieve the social engineering that they desire.
Somehow I doubt Lott & co. literally sat down and interview millions of cases rather they sent out surveys and let people self-guess everything.
@Gill, as normal you are so full of crap! I have stopped many illegal situations from occurring just by being vigilant, THERE and armed with my gun and NOT flashing it around in front of anybody. Alarm citizen does not always have to show their hand all they have to do is advise the perpetrator in a form and direct command that they need to LEAVE! Even the stupid ones that think they can take on an army while jacked up on PCP get the hint and decide to go play somewhere else.
I actually feel sorry for you. Evidently your COMMON SENSE is at a critically Low level and that will make you a victim one day and you have only to blame your self. You have never had to face a serious threat to your life which disqualifies you from even expressing an opinion that is anywhere near real …. you are the type that depends on others to protect you…. GOOD LUCK. >>>> Oldmarine
@Oldmarine Girl can’t afford any common sense, even though it’s free.
And the goal of the hoplophobe such as yourself isn’t to make people safe, it’s to make themselves “feel safe” by taking guns away from others. Two way street there chump.
As long as there are corrupt lawyers, judges, politicians and so-called violence researchers with a biased eye and the ethics of a Democrat, there will always be flawed research biased against guns. These so-called violence researchers are the best crooked money can buy.
If it’s anti-gun the media will move it FAKE NEWS or not!