The concept of “herd immunity” applies to gun ownership and crime rates just as it does to vaccinations and infectious disease.
Crime rates in Chicago dropped dramatically in 2014 after the state of Illinois allowed legal concealed carry. From the Washington Times:
[T]he number of robberies that have led to arrests in Chicago has declined 20 percent from last year, according to police department statistics. Reports of burglary and motor vehicle theft are down 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively. In the first quarter, the city’s homicide rate was at a 56-year low.
As Richard Pearson of the Illinois State Rifle Association observed:
It isn’t any coincidence crime rates started to go down when concealed carry was permitted. Just the idea that the criminals don’t know who’s armed and who isn’t has a deterrence effect. … The police department hasn’t changed a single tactic — they haven’t announced a shift in policy or of course — and yet you have these incredible numbers.
According to AWR Hawkins, national FBI statistics also showed a significant decrease in crime in the first half 2014 even though gun sales soared in 2013:
The number of murders declined 6.0 percent, the number of rapes (revised definition) declined 10.1 percent, aggravated assaults decreased 1.6 percent, and robbery offenses decreased 10.3 percent.
I think the New Castle Promise folks, all the gun-grabbers, the Demanding Moms, the Brady Bunch, and the Democrat fear-mongers in Everytown across New Hampshire should just say thank you and then shut the hell up. They live in one of the safest states in the nation year after year thanks to law-abiding gun owners.
But if they’d like to live in a progressive gun-free ‘paradise’ there are plenty of them left in America, and they are easy to find. Get a copy of the most recent FBI crime data. Look for the places with the most property crime, assault, rape, murder, and (this is not a coincidence) Democrat party registration. Ring the bell, you’ve found your left-wing anti-gun rhetoric utopia.
It is in these Gabby-Giffordsvilles where you will be least likley to feel intimated by the presence of law-abiding gun owners but more likley to be intimidated by a violent felon who just wants to show you his “appreciation” for disarming the law abiding public.
Hope you’re excited.
Can we’ll help you pack!
You can read Paul’s entire piece at PJ Media
