Surging crime across America has led to a rise in gun sales, but the gun control crowd is trying to twist that narrative around. A report in the left-wing Atlantic blames rising violent crime on increased gun sales. But John Lott, author and president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, has debunked that theory with his own research. In fact, he found that violent gun crimes actually declined even as gun sales rose. "In 2019, there were about 291,000 gun crimes reported to police, and in 2020 it was down to 212,000---that's almost a 30 percent drop," says Lott. "So it's kind of hard to go and blame increased gun crime for causing an increase in violent crime, when there's been such a huge drop in gun crime."
Lott, who has done extensive research and writing on crime and its relation to firearms, tells KTRH that there is often a false equivalence made between guns and crime. "Most people don't realize that 92 percent of violent crime has nothing to do with guns," he says.
In fact, even liberal states like California, New York and Illinois have seen a rise in gun sales after crime rates spiked. Lott argues the real culprit behind rising crime is not guns, but liberal policies like bail reform and defunding police. "You've had large numbers of inmates being released from jails and prisons...prosecutors refusing to prosecute violent criminals...you have police budgets being cut," he says.
"And these are the same people who want to push stricter gun control laws that prevent law-abiding people from being able to protect themselves," he continues. "They won't let law enforcement protect you, and then they won't let people protect themselves."
Photo: AFP