Fact checking claims regarding connecticut gun law’s effectiveness
Jazz Shaw for HotAir.com reports:
There’s a gun control piece up at the Washington Post this weekend with one of the most definitive titles imaginable.
Gun killings fell by 40 percent after Connecticut passed this law.
Well, that’s just got to be some great news for people looking to restrict the rights of gun owners. But as usual, a closer look is merited before we start popping the champagne corks. The story is talking about the early nineties, a period of time when gun crime and violent deaths were skyrocketing in Connecticut along with the rest of the nation. And so, in 1994, Connecticut passed a set of gun control laws regulating the permitting process. But not everyone felt it would be effective.
…The author also notes some other “potential problems” with the study. In order to compare what Connecticut would look like without the law, they created a “synthetic” Connecticut — a Frankensteinian creation that is mostly Rhode Island, with some Maryland, and traces of California, Nevada and New Hampshire. Seriously? What could possibly go wrong with that? You’re comparing actual data to a model you created out of thin air involving multiple placeswhich are not Connecticut? Hey… Science!
…[G]un deaths were going into a period of steep decline nearly everywhere, gun control laws being in place or not. And what was the real cause? People were fed up and angry about the dangerous conditions they were enduring and demanding action. Places like New York City implemented the Broken Windows policy and the rest of the nation followed their example when they saw how effective it was. So, was Connecticut on board with those ideas as well? Examples abound. Starting in 1995, Connecticut began expanding and deploying their state troopers into high crime areas, not just to catch criminals after the fact, but to crack down on drug dealers coming into the area and shooting the place up.
Read the rest of the report HERE.
