This article is part of an ongoing series debunking the “More Guns, Less Crime” hypothesis. See also Part 1 and Part 2. We have also critiqued a number of egregious errors in this debate including the fabrication that there…
Data, Debunking Myths, Short Read
More Guns, More Suicides: Why Suicide Prevention Depends Upon Gun Restrictions
Note: This article originally appeared in The Trace on September 16th, 2015 Last week the Brady Campaign released an extensively researched report titled “The Truth About Guns & Suicide,” kickstarting a long overdue conversation on the role firearms play…
Data, Debunking Myths, Long Read
Debunking the “Criminals Don’t Follow Laws” Myth 2.0: Why Gun Control Works
*Note- This article originally appeared in The Trace on September 8th. This is a continuation of our earlier column debunking “criminals don’t follow laws.” Despite the fact that mass shootings are predominantly an American phenomenon, gun advocates are quick to insist…
Debunking Myths, Short Read
Good Guys Without Guns Thwart French Train Shooter, Validate Data
Note – This article originally appeared in The Trace on August 25th Late last Friday afternoon on a train bound for Paris, a man armed with an AK-47, Luger pistol, and a box-cutter opened fire after being confronted by a passenger on…
Data, Debunking Myths, Long Read
The Myth of The Mentally Ill Shooter: Why the NRA Blames Mental Illness And Ignores Alcohol Abuse
In the wake of the mass shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, investigators and the media have pored over the gunman’s personal life, trying to find an explanation for what might have caused the tragedy. As the FBI continues to look…
Data, Debunking Myths, Long Read
More Holes in the Defensive Gun Use Myth: New Study Finds DGU is Ineffective and Rare
A recent study published in The Journal of Preventive Medicine offers new support for the argument that owning a gun does not make you safer. The study, led by David Hemenway, Ph.D., of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public…
Data, Debunking Myths
People Who Own Guns Least Likely To Use Them – New Illinois Data Debunks “More Guns, Less Crime”
Note – This article originally appeared in The Trace This week the Chicago Sun-Times issued a report on the rise of concealed carry in Chicago. The report, based on an analysis of statewide concealed-carry permit data, showed that residents of…
Data, Debunking Myths, Long Read
How America’s Lax Gun Laws Aid Mass Murderers and Cripple Communities of Color
Note – This article originally appeared in VICE Gun Free Zones Don’t Attract Mass Shootings In the wake of the massacre at Charleston’s African Methodist Episcopal Church last month, gun rights advocates have been quick to seize the opportunity…
Data, Debunking Myths, Long Read
More Guns, More Crime: Yet Another Study Debunking the Myth
Note- This column originally appeared in The Trace A Gallup poll taken last October found that around 63 percent of Americans believe that having a gun in the house makes their home safer. It’s a perception in keeping with…
Data, Debunking Myths, Long Read
Debunking the Gun Free Zone Myth: “Mass Murder Magnets”
Note: This column originally appeared in The Trace In the wake of the Wednesday shooting at a Charleston, S.C., church that left nine people dead, John R. Lott Jr., the prominent researcher whose work is embraced in gun-rights circles, offered a…