"A man we can always turn to to get the facts." Hahahahahahaha
Having had a good laugh at that intro, I will say this. He's absolutely right about the unfortunate tendency of some gun-control folks to exaggerate. It was just stupid to inflate the supposed number of school shootings like that. If they'd limited their statistics to just the true school shootings the point would have been sufficiently made and the opposition would not have been able to tear it apart. As it is, the entire thing is discredited which is a damn shame since school shootings have continued since Newtown.
It's interesting what he said about New Jersey concealed carry permits. This is where the gun-rights folks like to exaggerate. I've been told more than once that in NJ there's a de facto ban on carry outside the home.
Lott claimed that school shootings have actually declined in recent decades. I wonder if in order to make that appear true, he's not guilty of exactly the opposite of what he accused Bloomberg and The Moms of doing?
On the change in the number of school shootings over time, you should have gone to the website that was discussed in the interview. The site itself has links so that you can see where the data comes from. The National School Safety Center has data from 1991 to 2010.
ReplyDeletehttp://crimepreventionresearchcenter.org/2014/02/how-has-people-in-non-gang-non-suicide-shootings-at-k-12-schools-changed-over-the-last-20-years/
As to the Bloomberg claim that these school shootings have been ignored by the media, this link was pretty amusing.
http://crimepreventionresearchcenter.org/2014/02/michael-bloombergs-two-groups-moms-demand-gun-sense-in-america-and-mayors-against-illegal-guns-claim-that-school-shootings-arent-getting-media-attention/
Finally, you might want to read the original article that Lott wrote at Fox News.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/02/17/bloomberg-latest-stats-on-school-gun-violence-ignore-reality/
Conflation, exaggeration, and faulty emotionalism are the essential techniques of gun control.
ReplyDeleteRegarding New Jersey, he says exactly what we've been telling you--those who are ex-cops or politically connected can carry, while ordinary citizens are barred.
5,000 are politically connected? C'mon Greg, that's bullshit and you know it. It's probably like CA, some areas are stricter than others. But the point is, you were lying out your ass when you said NJ has a de facto ban on carry permits.
DeleteI hope Kurt is reading, your staunchest supporter and the one who claimed you never said even the slightest falsehood.
Actually Mike, I have said this before also,
Delete"As a result of this tough standard, New Jersey is effectively a "no issue" state unless one is a retired law enforcement officer."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_New_Jersey
Given the political corruption of New Jersey, I have no problem believing that there are many more than 5,000 connected persons in that state.
DeleteAnd ex-cops. Mike are you trying to tell us 5,000 permits is a lot?
DeleteI'm saying 5,000 civilians permits makes you guys who called NJ a state with a ban on carry, wrong.
DeleteThen go home and try to get a permit.
DeleteI don't disbelieve Greg's number of 5,000 because that might very well be the number of citizens with permits who are not former/retired law enforcement. Though that would include those able to get permits due to work requirements and the people with the juice to collect favors in the political arena.
Deletess, stop equivocating. I expect that from Greg, but not from you. Those numbers mean that you guys who called NJ a de facto no concealed carry state were wrong. Yes or no?
DeleteOne has but to look at the report's description of the altercation at Eastern Florida State College,(which we discussed here fairly extensively here) to get an idea of how much bias has been put into this report.
ReplyDelete"A verbal argument between students escalated into a fight in the parking lot of
the main academic building, and a 24-year-old student pulled a handgun from
his car and shot another student in the chest."
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/images/SchoolShootingsReport.pdf
Also keep in mind that not all colleges fall into the definition of a legal gun free zone. For example, in Minnesota, public post-secondary schools(colleges) cant ban citizens with permits from carrying. However, they are allowed to enact rules that ban students from carrying. So, they can be expelled, but not criminally charged.
I've seen some debate recently regarding percentages of the population that have carry permits and came across this source. A fairly recent GAO report on carry permits in the US.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592552.pdf
One thing I found interesting was that California actually has a lower percentage of carry permits than New Jersey, though that might very well change with the latest decision by the 9th Circuit.
I haven't had a chance to do more than look at the permit totals, but I thought you'd find it interesting.
Three counties in Texas have more permits than the entire state of California. But like you said, that may change.
Delete