Do guns lead to less crime?

Question

I feel more along the lines of no.

Answer 1

no if anything more crime bcuz thats just one more weapon to use.

Answer 2

Yes. And especially if people are legally permitted to carry them.

I am fortunate now to live in such an area - and crimes against
strangers is less - as the criminal is less likely to pull a gun on
someone he knows could easily also be carrying a gun.

Here, you must also have passed a training class,
and proved proficency and safety skills - in addition to a background check.

Not that I'm suggesting a shootout, but compared to Joe Crook who stole the gun last week, - and has probably never fired it, versus someone who has proven that they can accurately fire a revolver or automatic in a defensive situation - even some of
the Joe Crooks are smart enough to at least switch to more non-personal crime (burglary, theft).

Of the guns themselves.

Duh! These people are criminals, do you think that they care what additional crimes they may be committing by carrying or using a gun? Would they hesitate to obtain one illegally?
P.S. Same goes for high school. Ask your kids.

Answer 3

Look at the crime rates in Great Britain, Washington DC, and Australia after restrictive gun control laws. In every instance, crime has gone up. Since 1997 murders by handguns (now outlawed in the UK) have risen 30%. Washington has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country, and some of the worst crime. Australia went through a crime spike after their gun confiscations, and after 5 years crime dropped. Why did the crime drop? Because gun ownership rates went up. It is estimated that guns are used in self defense 2+ million times per year in this country. Most do not lead to violence, and therefore do not appear in the media. To address some comments made prior to this one that the United States is the only country where students pick up guns to shoot their classmates, that is flat out false. In Germany a student killed 17 fellow classmates, in Canada about a month ago a student killed members of his school body, these events are not isolated to the borders of America, and to claim that school shootings are an American crime is pure ignorance.

To answer your question bluntly, firearms have been shown to reduce crime rates. I hope that the facts I have presented you with have given you some insight into this issue, and that you see the truth of the matter.

Answer 4

I'm not too sure, but the numbers I have seen so far show that the answer is, in fact, yes.

For instance countries that have implemented nation wide gun controls have all had in increases in gun crime.

In the first year after nation wide gun control was implemented in Australia, (and gun owners were forced to surrender 640,381 personal firearms) Homicides were up 3.2%, Assaults up 8%, and Armed robberies are up 44%. In that country's state of Victoria, homicides with firearms are up 300%. And the numbers since are only worse.

In England, according to the BBC News, handgun crime in the United Kingdom rose by 40% in the two years after it passed its gun ban in 1997.

The fact is that gun control doesn't stop people from getting guns. I don't know about where you grew up but in the Bronx, nobody had any need of a Gun Shop when the "white van" was in town where you could buy any gun illegally (including the always illegal fully-automatic Uzi).

Still I would like to see an honest study on this subject. I don't think I have ever seen a study that shows how many people have prevented a crime on their person or property by threat or use of a firearm. Or a study that shows what percentage of gun crimes are committed with legally vs. illegally obtained guns. What I do know for sure is that the Economy, more than any other indicator, is most strongly correlated with crime rates.

This reminds me of a news story about two deranged teenagers in Pennsylvania who had made a pact to "kill someone". The first house they picked happened to be occupied by a healthily paranoid ex-New Yorker, who felt that there was something off about the late night visit. He flashed his gun and told the two to leave which they promptly did. Later that night the teenagers tried again and managed to kill everyone at a second household.

Obviously scary stuff, and I try not to buy into the culture of fear that the US media seems to thrive on, but that does not mean that these sorts of things don't happen, and I for one, prefer to be prepared.

Answer 5

absolutely, think about it this way, suppose you are a criminal in a country where everyone has a gun. How likely are you to break into someone's house when you know that they have a greater chance of killing you because they have a gun. Consider this, criminals will find ways of getting guns whether or not law abiding citizens can own guns. So how does it help the law abiding citizens if we get rid of our guns? The answer: it doesn't, it only takes away our best means of defense. Guns do lead to less crimes, not more end of story.

Answer 6

What seems to happen in states where guns are allowed to be carried concealed, initially the gun-crime rate SEEMS to rise, but then it depends upon who's editing the statistics. What one group might classify as "crime" might be seen under the local laws as "self-defense."
Here in my state, California, for example, you could be inside your home, using a gun to defend your family against an armed intruder, and by all rights have the moral imperitive on your side, and yet still be accused of committing a violent, gun-related crime.
In Texas, on the other hand, you can shoot and kill a trespasser on your property and have a reasonable expectation of innocence.
I think having access to guns allows the decent people of this land to defend themselves, which I feel is a sacred right.
What it boils down to is, if a criminal thinks that his potential victim might have the will and the means to use deadly force in self-defense, that criminal is much more likely to seek out a victim who has no means of defense. In other words, if the bad guys think you'll shoot them if they try to rob you, they'll likely think twice before doing it, and probably won't try it.

Answer 7

Well, let's see.... If less guns means less crime, is that backed up by what we already know?

Washington, D.C. No guns allowed. HIGH crime rate.
New York City. No guns allowed. High crime rate.
Chicago. No guns allowed. HIGH crime rate.
Detroit. No guns allowed. HIGH crime rate.

Looks like less guns means more crime. Criminals do not obey the law. That includes gun control laws. All you are doing is dis-arming the potential victims.

Kennesaw, Georgia passed a law stating that all law abiding citizens were required to own a gun. (More guns)

Morton Grove, Illinios, passed a law outlawing the private ownership of guns. (Less guns)

Guess where the crime rate went up, and where it went down?

Kennesaw, crime rate Down.
Morton Grove, Crime rate Up.

Bad guys are afraid of good guys with guns. They are NOT afraid of good guys without guns.

Answer 8

It is the person behind the gun pulling the trigger that has created more crime. The gun is a vechile of the crime.

Answer 9

Depends on who's holding the gun.
A crime is committed when a thug pulls a gun on an innocent, regardless of outcome. A homicide is prevented when the innocent can protect himself from the thug with his own gun.

Answer 10

No. But I don't believe they lead to more crime either. People who are going to do something violent will find a way to do it.

Answer 11

"I feel more along the lines of no."

The only country in the world where kids take arms from their homes and bring them to school to use in violent incidents is the U S of A