Top Pro & Con Arguments

Con

Concealed guns increase crime.

A 2018 study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded, “There is not even the slightest hint in the data that RTC [right-to-carry] laws reduce violent crime. Indeed, the weight of the evidence from the panel data estimates as well as the synthetic control analysis best supports the view that the adoption of RTC laws substantially raises overall violent crime in the ten years after adoption.” The authors found, “Ten years after the adoption of RTC laws, violent crime is estimated to be 13 [percent to] 15 percent higher than it would have been without the RTC law.” [93] [94]

A 1995 study of five urban cities, published in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, concluded that gun homicide rates increased “on average by 4.5 per 100,000 persons” following the enactment of “shall-issue” laws. [12]

A May 2009 study found that “shall-issue” laws were associated with increased numbers of aggravated assaults between 1977 and 2006. [33]

Former Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said, “I have seen far too much gun violence in my lifetime to think that more guns is a solution… a gun is more likely to be used against you than you use a gun in self-defense.” [83]

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