From: mark@unicorn.com
Date: Fri May 28 1999 - 12:52:55 MDT
Joe E. Dees [joedees@bellsouth.net] wrote:
>Murder rates are higher in those US states which have a concealed
>carry law, where both citizen and criminal is more likely to be
>armed, than they are in the U.K., where both is less likely to be.
True (though criminals in the UK are increasingly arming themselves), but
not particularly useful, since Britain has one of the lowest murder rates
in the world and hasn't changed greatly for a century or so; I think it's
about 50% higher today than when Britons could carry concealed at will.
Several of those states have murder rates comparable to Continental
European countries, which also generally have very strict gun laws
compared to America. Remove the drug-dealing-related inner city murders
and the entire country isn't much worse than Europe.
But anyway, why is it that those states -- with more guns and less
restrictions -- are seeing reductions in violent crime while Britain
-- with fewer guns and more restrictions -- is becoming increasingly
violent?
>Murder is the irreversible crime; it is the one which forever revokes
>one's right to life, liberty, property and pursuit of happiness, as well
>as the one to keep and bear arms.
Personally I'd happily trade a slightly larger chance of being murdered
for being armed and a greatly reduced chance of being attacked at random
by drunken idiots.
Mark
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