If every household owned a firearm, would crime decline?

Answer 1

Random crime would definitely decrease, since the possible cost to the criminal (getting shot by the victim) would go up. Overall shootings would almost certainly increase, since you are 30 times more likely to shoot someone you know with a handgun than to shoot a random criminal (technically we need to know how likely you are to get shot if you don't own a handgun vs shoot someone else if you do, but it's a good back-the-envelope for the ratio between increased shootings do to ownership against decreased shootings by criminals).

One interesting consequence might be a decrease in civil rights violations by the government. There's nothing like an armed populace to make a regime think twice about trying to oppress them.

I also heard it proposed that every woman be issued a handgun for her purse, to see what would happen to rape and domestic violence rates....

Answer 2

If every LAWFUL household owned one, current studies suggest crime would decline. If all the ones who wouldn't pass a background check owned one, it might be different.

The idea is that crime then has a bigger cost.

Answer 3

statistics show where there are guns in peoples house's the crime rate takes a Hugh fall, and every poll has shown this , but some people such as bLAKENWIT, SHOULD NOT OWN A GUN SHE IS SO AFRAID SHE MIGHT SHOOT HER SELF, her theory doe's not hold water very few kids are killed with guns , and then the ones who are is because the owners were so stupid they left the gun where the child could get to it, so there fore they should be charged with reckless endangerment of a child, I feel our future freedom will depend on a armed America, as it is obvious our so called fearless leaders are leading us down the path to slavery,

Answer 4

given the number of children who kill each other with their daddy's weapon, I wouldn't assume so.

Given the number of husbands who shoot wives in fits of anger and the number of wives who shoot husbands in the same condition, I wouldn't assume so either.

I would think the kinds of crime would change but not necessarily decrease. I think there would be more crimes committed by people you know instead of by people you don't know. It seems to me the crimes committed would make people more afraid of their family members and friends who know where their weapons are stored but less afraid of strangers.

I don't know for sure, but it seems like that is happening now with families who own guns. Most crimes in America are committed by people who know each other and more crimes are committed in the day time.

Answer 5

no
most crime is of convenience - minimal interaction between perp and victim

guns in the house would just put more guns into the system.
and violence just breeds more violence


of course there is the luck factor - see answer #1

Answer 6

If someone with a gun came into a resturant and pointed it at people, and 30 people pulled out THEIR gun and pointed at him, would we be having these mass murders anymore>??

Answer 7

it might but then again accidents with that firearm would probably occur

Answer 8

Probably, especially if more people carried them outside their homes.

Answer 9

concealed weapons laws do work. thats a given. if you thought i may have a gun, it would deter you unless of course you had a death wish to begin with. you gotta ask yourself one question.............