Gun violence has been in the news lately, which has some Americans advocating British-style gun laws.
The UK bans handguns, and in 2016 its per capita homicide rate was only 0.99 per 100,000 people.
But while it’s true that Brits commit relatively few murders, there’s another group that commits even fewer. Who are they?
Legally-armed Texans.
Over a million people in Texas are licensed to carry a firearm, and the state publishes a report on the crimes they commit.
In 2016, two were convicted of murder and another two were convicted of manslaughter.
If they formed their own country, its per capita homicide rate would be about 0.4 per 100,000 residents. In other words, Britain’s homicide rate would drop by more than half if it were populated by nothing but Texans with concealed handgun permits.
Texas isn’t unique: across the country, it’s rare for people who carry guns legally to commit crimes. They do stop them, however.
Sheriff’s Deputy Dylan Dorris discovered that when he was rescued by an armed motorist. Dorris was overpowered during a traffic stop, and the officer says he’s “alive today” because Marine Corps veteran Scott Perkins intervened. You can find many similar cases of individuals defending themselves and others.
While the stats show most people who carry are male, women actually have the most to gain from a concealed handgun. Unlike other weapons, the efficacy of a firearm depends on its user’s skill–not her size and strength. That’s why an armed Minnesota woman was able to fend off a gang of men. It’s the same reason a 91 year-old man in Michigan could defend himself in a drugstore parking lot.
And there’s an additional benefit: the presence of guns creates a deterrent. In a survey of convicts funded by the Department of Justice, 81 percent agreed, “A smart criminal always tries to find out if his potential victim is armed.”
Seventy four percent concurred that, “One reason burglars avoid houses when people are home is they fear being shot.”
It’s true that the United States has a problem with violent crime, and that problem has many components.
Law abiding gun owners aren’t one of them though. They’re part of the answer.
Via: WFP
Reblogged this on Brittius and commented:
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Cute. How I feel about my home state. When I was on the road, I carried a big rock from home and kept it on my “desk” in the office trailer. I would touch it every workday, remember home, and get motivated to finish up the job so I could get back to the hills. I’ve met some fine people in every state I visited, but I ALWAYS wanted to come home. I wouldn’t understand anyone who didn’t feel the same about where they’re from.
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Texas is beautiful. Have family in Dallas and Plano. Last time I was in Texas, I rode there and back (to New York), on a Harley-Davidson.
Worst thing about Texas, was leaving. Had a job lined up with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and came close to signing on a house in the Monger section. Wife, is a diehard New Yorker, gave me grief, then the FRB went with a younger candidate. Wife rubbed that in for a month.
Maybe If I hit the Powerball…
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It is a fine state, great people. I’ve been a few times. I thought we agreed you CAN have the Powerball…A week or so after I get it…
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Know who earns serious money in the UK?
A veterinary who can deal with gunshot wounds.
There is more gun crime than any politician will admit to and it’s all hushed up.
Don’t be fooled by UK statistics my friend, the carnage is out of hand.
If it’s not guns it’s knives or the latest craze, acid.
Such is our broken Untied (not a typo) Kingdom.
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Thanks for the comment.
We’ve started highlighting how the government and “media” have been covering up Muslim terror attacks, left wing attacks, etc. Anything that would reflect poorly on their globalist agenda gets squashed.
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Anybody would think they are trying to hide something. BUT WAIT, THEY ARE!
Worst bit about it, the sniveling media are party to it.
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The “media” was lying to us long before Cronkite said “and that’s the way it is.”
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