Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Australian ban had no effect on gun deaths

Opposing view: Homicide rate was already declining - Robert A. Levy, USA Today:

December 18, 2012 - "Why not emulate Australia's rigorous gun control model in the United States?

"For starters, it hasn't worked. Twelve years after the new regulations were implemented, Time reported on new research suggesting the new regime 'was a waste of public money and has made no difference to the country's gun-related death rates.' The homicide rate had been declining before the 1996 ban; its post-ban decline has merely been a continuation of that trend. Indeed, not one other country that has banned guns has lowered its murder rate.

"That doesn't mean our existing gun controls are optimal. Early detection and treatment of mental illness might lead to firearms access restrictions that the most ardent gun rights advocates could support. But regulations must be fashioned with great care, not simply as a formulaic response to the Newtown tragedy. Multivictim killings — heart-rending and horrifying — are but a fraction of 1% of all murders in the United States, and they will sadly occur even where stringent gun controls are imposed."

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2012/12/18/gun-control-cato-institute/1778507/
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