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You see the thing is, it is irrelevant what you believe. The only thing that is relevant in the situation is the reality.

The fact that I believe is indeed, of course, irrelevant. But what I believe happens to correspond rather closely with the available statistical information.

the most important factor in the drop in crime was the increased number of prisons and longer prison terms.

Perhaps. In any case, that was the first factor I mentioned so I don't see why you are being irrationally beligerent.

There is zero evidence that an increase in the number of people owning weapons lowered crime rates. That is pure conjecture on your part.

Not true; that is pretty much an established fact. Read Dr. Lott's book "More guns, Less crime" which demonstrates it. Dr. Kleck's earlier work also shows the dramatic effect of gun ownership in reducing violence.

There are some questionable statistics that seem to indicate that states which allowed abortion earlier than RvW actually saw a drop in crime earlier than nationally

Very questionable statistics, unlike the solid ones that show that an increase in gun ownership reduces crime. If the "abortion reduces crime" assertion were really true, it would hold in other places (Europe or Canada, for example) where no such correlation exists.

Your comment about higher abortion rates leading to a greater drop in crime has no basis in logic

Good thing that wasn't my comment; I said the exact opposite.

You write: If it were true, then the places with higher abortion rates would have had greater drops in crime,

This clearly shows that you reject the argument abortion affects crime because statistics don't show that higher abortion rates ion some states don't have a greater affect on crime.

My point is that this is a completely erroneous assumption. It is like saying that flossing twice a day reduces cavities, so flossing 4 times a day will reduce them even more. It is statistically possible that no matter how much more you floss, the rule of diminishing returns means that affect is negligible. The same may be true of abortion. I really don't know, but your statement is flawed in terms of its logic.

Also, I don't my if you call me irrational and then back it up, but I didn't intend to be beligerent. Sorry if you felt that way. I actually respected your arguments and was enjoying the prospect of an exchange with a thoughtful person with whom I only intend to respectfully disagree.