Easing handgun licensing laws: helping the public fight back.
USA Today (Magazine), Sept, 1998 by Jeffrey R. Snyder
A 1997 study by John Lott and David Mustard, "Crime, Deterrence and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns," provides significant criminological support for the claim that, far from increasing bloodshed, shall-issue systems save lives, prevent rapes and robberies, and confer benefits that extend well beyond those garnered by the people who are issued the permits.
Analyzing crime data from all 3,054 counties in the U.S. throughout the period 1977-92, Lott and Mustard found that, when shall-issue licensing laws went into effect in a county, murders fell on average by 7.65%, rapes by 5.2%, robberies by 2.2%, and aggravated assaults by 7.0%. Had all the counties in the nation had such laws, the researchers suggest that there would have been 1,414 fewer murders, 4,177 fewer rapes, 11,898 fewer robberies, and 60,363 fewer aggravated assaults. On the other hand, property crime rates increased 2.7% after the passage of shall-issue laws. Lott and Mustard conclude that criminals appear to respond to the threat of being shot by victims by substituting less risky, non-confrontational crimes.
For most violent crimes like murder, rape, and aggravated assault, the new concealed-weapon laws had the greatest deterrent effect in counties with high crime rates. Significantly, Lott and Mustard also found that "concealed handguns are the most cost-effective method of reducing crime thus far analyzed by economists, providing a higher return than increased law enforcement or incarceration, other private security devices, or social programs like early educational intervention."
More studies showing that Shall-Issue saves lives and reduces crime.