Keep and Bear Arms

Less Guns, More Crime
VPC Vindicates Lott Findings

by David Codrea

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a stunning development, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) released "Hispanics and Firearms Violence" on May 8, a study that puts the anti-defense collective squarely on the side of gun rights defenders. Also attending the Capitol Hill press conference were U.S. Representatives Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), and Hilda Solis (D-CA), as well as representatives of leading national Hispanic organizations, who joined Karen Brock, MPH, VPC health policy analyst and study author in endorsing the startling findings that fewer guns result in more crime.

"Hispanics own guns at rates lower than the general population," states the study's introduction.

"Hispanics are far less likely than blacks or whites to own guns," the study maintains. "Only 11 percent of Hispanics own guns, compared to 16 percent of blacks, and 27 percent of whites."

"Hispanics are more likely than those in other racial/ethnic groups to be victims of violent crimes involving strangers," the study continues. "77.4 percent of Hispanics were murdered with a firearm—the highest percentage for any racial or ethnic group...Handguns were used in 69.5 percent of all Hispanic homicides—once again the highest of any racial or ethnic group."

In addition, the VPC study also demonstrates how more guns result in fewer gun-related injuries, a further reason to encourage responsible firearm ownership. "That year [1997], Hispanics had a total firearm injury (fatal and nonfatal) rate 2.8 times that of whites," it states. "This information is further supported by a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine study which found that Hispanics were shot (both fatally and nonfatally) at a rate 2.6 times higher than non-Hispanic whites."

VPC also asserts that fewer guns resulted that "Hispanic households had significantly higher rates of property crime, burglary, and theft than non-Hispanic households."

What all of this means, to anyone capable of basic logic, is that if fewer guns result in more crime, the opposite is proven true as well, a position advanced by Yale University Professor John Lott in his landmark book More Guns, Less Crime.

Bottom line, the anti-defense lobby has tripped on their own numbers and is too dumb to figure it out, especially the opportunistic moron politicians Roybal-Allard, Napolitano and Solis. The "study" compared such disparate "regions" as California, Texas and Chicago, as if the populations in geographically extensive states can be considered homogeneous--no attempt was made to disclose Hispanic homicide/injury rates based on urban/rural environments, nor to point out how ridiculous it is to compare such state figures with those of a city. Nor did they factor in such influences as existing gun laws which render populations defenseless; for instance, it is illegal to own a handgun in Chicago that was not registered by 1982.

Also absent from the "study" was any indication of how many of the homicides were justifiable, either by law enforcement personnel or private citizens defending themselves or others. Nor was affiliation of the "victims" with criminal activities explored, or the distinction between gun possession and lawful ownership.

But that's because the folks at VPC have never shown as strong an interest in promoting the truth as they have at dredging up whatever crazy and subversive crap they think will generate headlines, enhance their political clout, encourage contributions from well-heeled and well-protected elitist patrons, and further undermine the ability of average Americans to exercise their God-given right to self defense. And based on this latest publicity stunt, they're not above adding racial profiling to their arsenal of predictably despicable tactics.

If you receive this in text vs. html format, the links for the VPC press release and study are: