Posted on 12/17/2004 8:36:29 AM PST by kimber
WASHINGTON -- A new analysis of efforts to control violence by restricting access to guns has not found enough evidence to reach valid conclusions about their effectiveness. The National Research Council said Thursday that a major research program on firearms is needed.
"Policy questions related to gun ownership and proposals for gun control touch on some of the most contentious issues in American politics," Charles Wellford, chairman of the committee that wrote the report, said in a statement.
Among the major questions needing answers are whether there should be restrictions on who may possess firearms, on the number or types of guns that can be purchased, and whether safety locks should be required, said Wellford, professor of criminal justice at the University of Maryland.
"These and many related policy questions cannot be answered definitively because of large gaps in the existing science base," he said. "The available data are too weak to support strong conclusions."
Thirty-four states have "right to carry" laws that allow certain adults to carry concealed weapons. However, the report found no credible evidence that such laws either decrease or increase violent crime.
Citing another example, the report said there is almost no evidence that programs aimed at steering children away from guns have had any effect.
The report noted that many schools have programs intended to prevent gun violence. However, it said, some studies suggest children's curiosity and teenagers' attraction to risk make them resistant to the programs or that the projects actually increase the appeal of guns.
I think he actually means "too weak to support his pre-conceived, pro-gun control conclusions".
Since children are more likely to die from sticking their heads into 5-gallon buckets full of water than from finding and playing with guns, I find it doubtful that the cost of developing such data could be justified when scarce resources could be spent on developing strategies to save more children from greater dangers.
There's no mystery here. The council had a conclusion aforehand that "guns are bad and should be banned, mkay" and they sought information to back that idiocy up. Naturally, they didn't find any such information, so -- instead of conceding defeat of their socialist ideals -- they claimed a "lack of data" and are now appealing to all Leftist universities to manufacture the data.
I'll wager the next "expert testimony" to come before that council will be none other than academically-disgraced Michael Bellesiles.
They are looking for a recount like the rest of the liberal dims. They would also love to get a registration scheme going so that they can get the data they need. Any government grant money planned for these people should be sent to buy equipment for the troops in Iraq instead.
These people need real jobs.
Other states, such as Florida, experienced a measurable decline in handgun crimes after instituting concealed carry laws.
From a strictly academic point of view, there are a lot of factors that this could be attributed to and it would be difficult to site concealed carry as the key factor.
If concealed carry has no effect, then the rules should be made in favor of maximum freedom for the people, and the right to carry if they wish.
SO9
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.