Quote (Caedus @ Nov 12 2014 10:33am)
Yes there is. Why does a firearm prevent crime? That's a question that has never been answered to a satisfactory level. Most states with high levels of firearms proliferation have high levels of crime. Counter examples of places with high crime and low guns tend to be non-representative samples such as Chicago. Crime is also correlated with poor socio-economic status and lower levels of education, but that's a contributing factor to crime not an alternative reason.
I have not yet found a study with a convincing argument that more guns = less crime. The rationale behind the argument is inherently flawed, and the relationship is weak at best, further broken down by the fact it's not a model that can be generalized. Using guns as the only factor to determine violent crime is wrongheaded, but ignoring it is as well.
I ask again, why do firearms prevents crime?
E: Lott is an dissenter who's opinions are rejected by the vast majority of academics within applied politics. You can cite Lott, and the person arguing against you can cite ten other studies that reject Lott's findings. Lott's research is also funded by people who support gun rights and not neutral, academic sources, so we have reasonable grounds to doubt the neutrality of his findings.
"Satisfactory" is a relative term. Why do firearms prevent crimes? Because criminals fear armed victims.
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