"Gun Control" Doesn't Control, Studies Find

The Department of Justice and the National Academy of Sciences have overwhelming evidence that gun control does not prevent firearms from getting into the hands of criminals.

The National Academy of Sciences issued a 328-page report based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, a survey of 80 different gun-control laws and some of its own independent study. In short, the panel could find no link between restrictions on gun ownership and lower rates of crime, firearms violence or even accidents with guns.

However, the NAS decided that "even more thorough research on the topic is needed".

"While more research is always helpful, the notion that we have learned nothing flies in the face of common sense," said John Lott, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a critic of gun-control laws. "The NAS panel should have concluded as the existing research has: Gun control doesn't help."

Meanwhile, the DOJ found that the federally mandated background checks did next to nothing to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals.

The study noted the number of criminals who obtained guns from retail outlets was dwarfed by the number of those who picked up their arms through means other than legal purchases. The report was the result of interviews with more than 18,000 state and federal inmates conducted nationwide. It found that nearly 80 percent of those interviewed got their guns from friends or family members, or on the street through illegal purchases.

Less than 9 percent were bought at retail outlets and only seven-tenths of 1 percent came from gun shows.

7/10 of 1 percent!! Are you surprised? Of course a criminal isn't going to go to a gun show to purchase firearms. Those places are crawling with cops these days, not to mention most people in attendance aren't afraid to shoot you if you try to pull some kind of stunt.

Crispy