More Guns, Less Crime by John R Lott Jnr. book review
review by Dr Joanne D. Eisen and Dr Paul Gallant
16 April 1998
Publisher:
Univeristy of Chicago Press.
Chicago, IL 60637: 1998
Tel (978) 745-6762
Hardcover; 232 pages
$23.00 US
"Does gun ownership save or cost lives, and how do the various gun laws affect this outcome?", are questions which concern us all, because they're questions about life and death, perhaps of our loved ones. The answers we need to know, then, are not just somebody's guesses, or personal opinions. The answers we need to know are those you can bet your life on! Those are the kinds of answers found in More guns, less Crime, by Dr. John Lott.
Lott's book is a comprehensive dissertation of firearms in America from a unique perspective - that of an economist. While some might wonder why an economist would be researching the firearm debate, the answer soon becomes evident: deterrence is really all about the "cost of doing crime". Indeed, the concept of "cost" permeates this book.
According to criminologist Dr . Gary Kleck, the 1997 Lott-Mustard study is "the most authoritative study" of concealed firearms to date. Lott's conclusions can be succinctly summed up in the statement that "allowing citizens without criminal records of histories of significant mental illness to carry concealed handguns deters violent crime", without an accompanying rise in firearm-related accidental deaths.
More Guns, Less Crime uses additional data made available after the completion of Lott's earlier work. That provides the scientific basis for conclusions not possible to draw from previous data. Among the issues Lott addresses are the Brady Law, background checks, waiting periods, mass public shootings, gun-free school zones, and the effect of relaxed handgun laws on neighboring counties and states.
This book is not a light-hearted jaunt through somebody's musings on the Second Amendment. It's a critical examination of the social costs and benefits of private firearm ownership in America. While the technical details of making sense out of a massive amount of information are there for the taking, they are not necessary for a basic understanding. The commentary and plain English explanations are easy reading, if not particularly fast-paced.
Fore readers interested in understanding the scientific methodology behind Lott's conclusions, the first appendix deals exclusively with the statistical treatment of the data. Numerous charts and graphs, and detailed footnotes which supplement the body of each chapter, enhance understanding of Lott's approach. Also included is an up-to-date bibliography for further reading on the subject.
More Guns, Less Crime affords Lott a vehicle to address the political and academic criticisms leveled at both him and his 1997 study, without regard to space or time constraints. Chapter 7 is devoted entirely to that aspect. That same chapter also provides insight into the underhanded tactics of the firearm- prohibitionists, in attempting to quash honest debate on the firearm issue. Lott points out that the response from some in the academic community has been "highly unusual", adding "who has ever heard of academics mounting an attack on a scholarly study by engaging in a systematic letter-writing campaign to local newspapers around the country?".
Lott's findings challenge virtually every claim of traditional gun-control dogma. If there is one unifying theme runs throughout the book, it is Lott's scientific validation of what many gun-owners already intuitively knew: society benefits from ordinary people who accept the responsibilities of firearm ownership - not from gun-control laws. Preventing law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms for self-defense does not end violent crime - "it merely makes victims more vulnerable…".
Using 54,000 separate observations from over 3,000 counties, spaced over 18 years, Lott answers his own question: "Will allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns save lives?" The reply he gives is a very definite "Yes, it will."
Lott's book should be required reading for every legislator or bureaucrat who has any input into public policy-making. Many may not like what Lott has to say, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't hold them all accountable to the truth. Public policy ought not be held hostage to ignorance or hysteria.
More Guns, Less Crime will have profound influence on the firearm debate in America. You need to read it!
Home > Research archive > 1998 > More Guns, Less Crime by John R Lott Jnr. book review