Gun control

The example of Washington only reinforces what scientific
research has long since discerned: Strict gun laws do not work. Indeed, the
cities with the most restrictive gun laws — Washington, Chicago, New York and
California — consistently rate among the highest level of violent crime in the
country. In New Jersey, the murder rate jumped 46 percent in the two years
since lawmakers enacted what they called “the most stringent gun law”
in the country.

Though these results may seem counterintuitive, they have a
simple explanation. Strict gun control does not reduce crime because it does
not keep weapons out of the hands of criminals. Criminals do not abide by
waiting periods or registration requirements. The only people affected by these
so-called “gun control” measures are law-abiding citizens, who are rendered
less able to resist crime.

According to a 1993 survey conducted by Florida State
University criminologist Gary Kleck, approximately 2 million law-abiding
citizens per year use guns to resist crimes. Get it? Guns give victims the
ability to fight back against violent criminals. And whereas strict gun control
measures would not be likely to inhibit criminals (they do, after all, break
the law for a living), it would strip law-abiding citizens of the ability to
defend themselves against violent attacks. The undeniable implication: Less — not
more — stringent gun control makes our society safer.

Williams can be heard daily on Sirius/XM Power 169 from 9 to 10 p.m. and from 5 to 6 a.m.

Visit www.armstrongwilliams.com.