Two Guns, Four Guns, Six Guns, More Guns: Does Arming the Public Reduce Crime?

Valparaiso University Law Review, Vol. 31 (1997).

Posted: 12 Mar 1997

Abstract

This brief article reviews a well publicized study by John R. Lott, Jr. and David B. Mustard, Crime Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns, 26 J. Legal Stud. 1 (1997). Lott and Mustard argue that laws authorizing citizens to carry concealed handguns reduce the rate of violent crime dramatically, yet their tables include a number of findings that raise a reader's eyebrows (for example, that the population density of a county is negatively correlated with its rate of murder and rape). Moreover, Lott and Mustard's data suggest deterrent effects where there should be none or almost none (among youths who are not authorized to carry weapons by right-to-carry laws and among family members who have never been forbidden to keep firearms in their homes). Indeed, these unexpected (and indeed inconceivable) deterrent effects appear to be stronger than those produced in the situations in which the right-to-carry laws were thought most likely to reduce violence (adult and stranger killings). After concluding that "there is essentially no reason for an intelligent consumer of social science research to credit the Lott and Mustard findings," the paper notes some alternatives to returning to the crime control methods of the American frontier.

JEL Classification: K14

Suggested Citation

Alschuler, Albert W., Two Guns, Four Guns, Six Guns, More Guns: Does Arming the Public Reduce Crime?. Valparaiso University Law Review, Vol. 31 (1997)., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=10349

Albert W. Alschuler (Contact Author)

University of Chicago Law School ( email )

1111 E. 60th St.
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
773-702-0730 (Fax)

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