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Safe Storage Gun Laws: Accidental Deaths, Suicides
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Safe Storage Gun Laws: Accidental Deaths, Suicides, and Crime
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=228534
JOHN R. LOTT, JR.
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) - General
JOHN E. WHITLEY
University of Adelaide - School of Economics
March 29, 2000
Yale Law School, Law & Economics Working Paper No. 237
Abstract:
It is frequently assumed that safe storage gun laws reduce accidental gun deaths and total suicides, while the possible impact on crime rates are ignored. However, given existing work on the adverse impact of other safety laws, such as safety caps for storing medicine, even the very plausible assumption of reduced accidental gun deaths cannot be taken for granted. Our paper analyzes both state and county data spanning nearly twenty years, and we find no support that safe storage laws reduce either juvenile accidental gun deaths or suicides. Instead, these storage requirements appear to impair people?s ability to use guns defensively. Because accidental shooters also tend to be the ones most likely to violate the new law, safe storage laws increase violent and property crimes against low risk citizens with no observable offsetting benefit in terms of reduced accidents or suicides. During the first five full years after the passage of the safe storage laws, the group of fifteen states that adopted these laws faced an annual average increase of over 300 more murders, 3,860 more rapes, 24,650 more robberies, and over 25,000 more aggravated assaults. On average, the annual costs borne by victims averaged over $2.6 billion as a result of lost productivity, out-of-pocket expenses, medical bills, and property losses.
JEL Classifications: K2, K14, K32
Working Paper Series
Abstract has been viewed 18397 times
Go to Download Document Button to download paper from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection
Contact Information for JOHN R. LOTT, JR. (Contact Author)
jlott@aei.org (Email address for JOHN R. LOTT, JR.)
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) - General
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington , DC 20036
United States
202-862-4884 (Phone)
Contact Information for JOHN E. WHITLEY
JOHN.WHITLEY@ADELAIDE.EDU.AU (Email address for JOHN E. WHITLEY)
University of Adelaide - School of Economics
Adelaide SA 5005
Australia
Paper Requests:
Contact Karen Crocco, Program for Studies in Law, Economics, and Public Policy, Yale Law School, 127 Wall Street, P.O. Box 208215, Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520-8215. Mailto:karen.crocco@yale.edu
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=228534
JOHN R. LOTT, JR.
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) - General
JOHN E. WHITLEY
University of Adelaide - School of Economics
March 29, 2000
Yale Law School, Law & Economics Working Paper No. 237
Abstract:
It is frequently assumed that safe storage gun laws reduce accidental gun deaths and total suicides, while the possible impact on crime rates are ignored. However, given existing work on the adverse impact of other safety laws, such as safety caps for storing medicine, even the very plausible assumption of reduced accidental gun deaths cannot be taken for granted. Our paper analyzes both state and county data spanning nearly twenty years, and we find no support that safe storage laws reduce either juvenile accidental gun deaths or suicides. Instead, these storage requirements appear to impair people?s ability to use guns defensively. Because accidental shooters also tend to be the ones most likely to violate the new law, safe storage laws increase violent and property crimes against low risk citizens with no observable offsetting benefit in terms of reduced accidents or suicides. During the first five full years after the passage of the safe storage laws, the group of fifteen states that adopted these laws faced an annual average increase of over 300 more murders, 3,860 more rapes, 24,650 more robberies, and over 25,000 more aggravated assaults. On average, the annual costs borne by victims averaged over $2.6 billion as a result of lost productivity, out-of-pocket expenses, medical bills, and property losses.
JEL Classifications: K2, K14, K32
Working Paper Series
Abstract has been viewed 18397 times
Go to Download Document Button to download paper from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection
Contact Information for JOHN R. LOTT, JR. (Contact Author)
jlott@aei.org (Email address for JOHN R. LOTT, JR.)
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) - General
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington , DC 20036
United States
202-862-4884 (Phone)
Contact Information for JOHN E. WHITLEY
JOHN.WHITLEY@ADELAIDE.EDU.AU (Email address for JOHN E. WHITLEY)
University of Adelaide - School of Economics
Adelaide SA 5005
Australia
Paper Requests:
Contact Karen Crocco, Program for Studies in Law, Economics, and Public Policy, Yale Law School, 127 Wall Street, P.O. Box 208215, Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520-8215. Mailto:karen.crocco@yale.edu
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
By Amy Beth Preiss - The Sun Staff
WESTERLY - Close to 30 people attended a Town Council workshop Monday night primed to discuss the police chief's policy for granting concealed weapon permits, but most in the group will have to wait until next week to say their piece.
In May, Westerly gun shop owner Tom Brewer charged that Westerly Police Chief J. David Smith is wrongly refusing to grant local concealed weapon permits by referring applicants to the state first.
Brewer, owner of the Gun and Dive Shop, at 140 Main St., wrote to the council asking that it look into the matter, hoping the council will direct that Smith take a closer look at Rhode Island General Laws regarding the issuing of a concealed weapons permits.
Brewer charged that Smith is wrongly interpreting the term "suitability" as it relates to potential permit holders while forcing gun owners to go to the attorney general's office to obtain the permit. Brewer, a National Rifle Association-certified instructor who provides permit certification, safety training and hunter safety classes, claims the chief's policy is having a "drastic and negative impact" on his business.
Smith asked the council to continue to support his policy.
Town Council President Samuel Azzinaro told the group, who sat for more than hours waiting to address Smith and the council, that they would be able to speak during the council's regularly scheduled meeting under citizen's comments. Many of those who attended Monday said they already have plans to attend next week's meeting.
Smith, who said he was a big proponent of the right to bear arms, addressed the council stating that he is following the state concealed weapons law and will continue to abide by an agreement between most of the state's police chiefs and the state attorney general's office. Smith said the item in dispute is that some say the Rhode Island law mandates the town to issue a concealed weapons permit. But Smith maintains that because owners have the option of seeking licenses from the state, Rhode Island's chiefs have either changed policy or continued existing policy to not grant permits at the local level.
While Brewer was able to speak Monday night, Azzinaro said he had to refer the rest of the group to next week's meeting. After hearing that, the entire group followed Smith out into the hallway to continue discussions of the policy and ask other concerns about issuing permits for about another half-hour.
"We have two licensing processes in Rhode Island," Smith said. "If the state did not have a process I would be more receptive."
Smith said his policy is not meant to inconvenience anybody or deprive anybody of getting a concealed gun license permit, his policy is consistent with other departments across the state. But objectors claimed it is very inconvenient to have to drive to Providence for a permit.
"I feel very comfortable with the decision I've made," Smith said. "It's only every four years that they need to renew the permit. I don't see it as much more of an inconvenience."
Smith said he had already sought the advice of Town Solicitor Steve Hartford, who said that he agrees that to require that an applicant for a Westerly issued permit first hold an Attorney General permit is an "allowable" and "acceptable" standard in determining whether an applicant is a suitable person to be licensed.
"The AG is better suited, has more staff to make judgment calls and I think that is what the chief is saying," Hartford said.
But Brewer said he would like Smith to issue the permits.
"The chief of police knows what's going on," Brewer said. Brewer said he was working on gathering a petition, which would force the issue to a referendum vote. Brewer said he has already collected around 500 signatures.
Seth Wish of Westerly said the chief is "skirting" his responsibility and his policy is terribly inconvenient.
"Any woman or minority who does not have the money to travel to Providence to get a permit from the AG's office is denied their right under the chief's interpretation of suitability," Wish said. "It is a terrible violation of civil rights especially those without resources to apply for a permit. If this was so legit, towns would have already been doing this." http://www.thewesterlysun.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2002/July/02-3533-news7.txt
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Lieutenant governor helps hand out locks
Wednesday, July 03, 2002
By Cara Rubinsky
c 2002 Republican-American
Jim Shannon / Republican-American
WATERBURY - Lt. Gov. Jodi Rell believes so strongly in the importance of gun locks that she's handing them out for free.
Waterbury officers joined her in front of the Waterbury Police Department on East Main Street Tuesday afternoon for the first of three city stops on the statewide Project HomeSafe tour.
"This is a simple measure," Rell said. "We tell people to put your gun under lock and key. We'll even give you the lock and key."
The nationwide program is sponsored by the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors and funded by a $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. It was developed by the Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation.
In Connecticut, where the effort started last week and will continue through July 22, officials hope to distribute 50,000 locks during 28 stops in 18 cities and towns. Officials hope to hand out 3 million safety kits across the country by the end of this year.
"This is not a pro-gun or anti-gun issue," said Rell, adding that gun locks are particularly important in homes with children. "It is a safety issue."
Waterbury Chief Inspector of Patrol Larry Wight and Lt. Patrick Ridenhour, head of the community relations division, were on hand Tuesday to talk with Rell about the program. They stood under a tent in front of the Waterbury Police Department, 255 East Main St. There were few takers, largely because sweltering temperatures in the 90s kept many people indoors.
The locks, which retail for about $11 each, will be handed out for free at the police department from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. A safety coordinator will be on hand to answer questions.
The department will also have about 600 extra locks that residents can pick up at the station at their convenience. Gun owners do not have to leave their names or provide any information about themselves or their weapons.
Locks will also be distributed at the Stop & Shop Plaza in Torrington on July 11. State police plan to take 200,000 of them, then send them out with gun permit renewals, Rell said.
Each cable lock has a steel cord that is threaded through a gun's empty magazine, then placed in a padlock that can be opened with a key. The cord in the magazine prevents the gun from being fired. The locks can be used on various guns.
http://www.rep-am.com/localnews/3kt6.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By Alison Damast
Special Correspondent
July 2, 2002
For two years, James Freire had been toying with applying for a Connecticut gun permit. Although the 22-year-old lifelong Stamford resident had filled out most of the required paperwork, he kept putting off sending in his application.
"It wasn't such an urgent thing for me," said Freire, a certification engineer at Inrange Technologies in Shelton.
But Freire changed his mind after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the renewed violence in the Middle East. Putting off applying for his permit, he felt, was no longer an option.
"If someone crashed an airplane into a building, terrorism on the ground is definitely even easier," said Freire, who received his permit Feb. 28 and bought his gun the same day. "I saw how many people had stopped the suicide bombers in Israel because they allowed people to carry firearms."
Freire, who is one of 661,183 registered firearms owners in the state, is not alone in these sentiments. Since Sept. 11, applications for gun permits in Connecticut have increased a record 457 percent, according to state records.
State police said they are receiving 500 new gun permit applications along with 2,700 gun permit renewals each month. A large number of these applicants come from such people as Freire, who since the events of Sept. 11, are looking for new ways to protect themselves, authorities said.
The increase in applications for gun permits does not surprise Stamford Police Chief Lou DeCarlo.
"We are in a conflict that is different than any other because it started on our own soil," DeCarlo said last week. "It's given some of us a sense of vulnerability that we didn't have on Sept. 10."
Chip Stahl, an employee at Hiller Sports in Norwalk, said he has seen a 60 percent to 70 percent increase in the number of people signing up for gun safety handling classes he and store owner Paul Hiller teach.
The class is required to become a Connecticut gun permit holder.
A large number of his students, he said, are women who have never handled a gun before.
"I think there are some people that have things blown out of perspective where they think terrorists are going to come out of the sky like 'Red Dawn,' " Stahl said. "With other people, it just got them aware that things can happen."
After the new permit holders buy guns, Stahl said, many head to the Cos Cob Revolver and Rifle Club in Greenwich, a private club with a shooting range.
William Hatch, a Greenwich resident and the president of the 500-member club, said he has seen a 30 percent increase in membership this year.
"Some people always wanted a gun, and Sept. 11 was a catalyst," Hatch said. "We're not as safe as we were, and owning a gun is one way to appease their discomfort."
Turning to guns in times of war and unrest is part of a deep-rooted American tradition, said psychologist Stanley Rosner, who has a private practice in Stamford.
"In the United States, based on our frontier history, guns are our first line of defense," Rosner said. "People grow up with Westerns and see everybody wearing two guns on either side of their belt."
The belief that the government would always protect people is slowly disappearing, said Ralph Sherman, a West Hartford lawyer who helps state residents obtain gun permits.
"There are more people coming into my office than ever before who have never really seriously thought about owning a firearm," Sherman said. "There's only so long an intelligent person is going to hear these terrorist alerts from the government and think, 'Am I just a sitting duck?' "
The dramatic increase in permit applications this year is a concern to state officials such as Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell.
Rell is especially worried that those applying for permit renewals may not have a proper safety lock on their gun. Many firearm owners, she said, may have bought their guns years ago, before the state mandated that guns must come with safety locks.
In the next few weeks, she plans to travel throughout the state, distributing 50,000 free cable gun locks as part of Project HomeSafe, a nationwide firearms safety education program.
"Our message is real clear," Rell said. "When you have a gun, you should have it under lock and key. We'll give you the lock and key."
For Freire, whose gun came with a safety lock, just knowing that he has a gun on him 24 hours a day, seven days a week, makes him feel more secure, he said.
"Unless you have a police officer walking right next to you, they can't guarantee your safety," Freire said. "The way I look at it, you're taking more of a risk not having one than having one."
-- Project HomeSafe will give out free gunlocks 1 to 6 p.m. tomorrow and noon to 6 p.m. Friday at Bongiorno supermarket, 286 West Ave., Stamford.
Copyright c 2002, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-gun2jul02.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
271 East Imperial Highway, Suite 620 Fullerton, California 92835
(714) 992-C2R7P7A2 .FAX (714) 992-2996
Media Release July 2, 2002
For Immediate Release: July 2, 2002
For Additional Information Contact: Chuck Michel,
CRPA Spokesman Tel: (310) 548-3703 Cell: (310)722-1324
CRPA RELEASES GUN SAFETY
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
FOR JULY 4th HOLIDAY
URGES SAFE CELEBRATIONS - NO GUN FIRE INTO THE AIR
The California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA) today released to
California radio stations public service announcements calling for safe
and responsible celebrating this Fourth of July holiday. The PSAs, the
sixth in a series of CRPA PSAs on gun safety, can be obtained from
CRPA's spokesperson. Similar CRPA PSAs have been broadcast by many radio
stations for the July 4th and New Years Eve holidays for the last
several years, and many stations intend to broadcast them again this
year.
In the past, the Fourth of July and New Years Eve have unfortunately
been marked by some irresponsible people celebrating by shooting guns
into the air. CRPA opposes any and all irresponsible gun usage,
particularly this bad practice, which can have tragic results when the
bullet comes back down to earth. Discharging guns in such a manner is
already a crime.
"We hope all Americans appreciate their freedom this weekend, and that
includes the freedom to choose to own a gun," said Chuck Michel, CRPA
Spokesman. "We encourage folks to celebrate. But with freedom comes
responsibility. Unfortunately some folks don't realize the damage that
can be done when a gun is fired into the air. CRPA's PSA serves to
educate and warn against such conduct. Even though the firearm accident
rate is at the lowest level ever, we want to make it go even lower."
CRPA's 70,000+ members include law enforcement officers, prosecutors,
professionals, firearm experts, the general public, and loving parents.
CRPA recognizes that firearm ownership has tremendous social value. It
causes dramatic reductions in, and serves as a tremendous deterrent to,
crime and violence. No less than 16 separate studies confirm that
firearms are used five times more often to thwart crime than to commit
one. The FBI has confirmed that over 99% of firearms in the United
States are never misused. CRPA instructors have been teaching safe and
responsible firearms ownership to those who choose to own a gun for
sport or self-defense for over 125 years. CRPA has a variety of
effective crime prevention and gun safety programs available. These
include informational brochures such as CRPA's Know Your California Gun
Laws, safety guidelines, civilian gun safety and firearm education
classes; the award-winning Eddie Eagle GunSafe program, which teaches
kids to stay away from guns (www.eaglepak.org); Project HomeSafe
(www.projecthomesafe.org), which distributes free gun safety locks;
"Don't Lie for the Other Guy," which enlists firearm dealers to fight
illegal gun purchases and "straw purchases" (www.nafr.org); "Refuse To
Be A Victim," which teaches a variety of personal safety techniques (www.nrahq.org/safety/rtbav); Operation Ceasefire, a strategic crime
fighting alliance between police and gun dealers; and a host of other
programs. These efforts have proven successful across the nation,
including many cities in California where they are currently used.
http://www.crpa.org/pressrls070202.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
The Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) honored the new video, Hunting with the Women of the NRA, at its annual conference held in Charleston, WV June 22-26. The video, developed under NRA's Women On TargetT program, won first place in the Instruction Division of the OWAA ECO Awards Program, Outdoor Category. It is believed to be the first hunting video made by and for women.
Hunting With the Women of the NRA, called "wonderfully and beautifully filmed" by the OWAA awards committee, was primarily produced to be shown to women attending ladies-only hunts conducted under the Women On TargetT program, but it is available to anyone and offers value to any woman who hunts. The video illustrates and explains a number of lessons and practices essential for safe, successful hunting: gun safety in various hunting situations, shotgun patterning, rifle sighting-in, caliber/gauge selection, ammunition components, leading a target, eye dominance, and other concepts.
"We're thrilled to win this award," said Stephanie Henson, manager of the Women On TargetT program. "Not only does it confirm the quality of the video, it tells us that others in the hunting and shooting community recognize the importance of reaching out to women."
To order a VHS copy of Hunting with the Women of the NRA, call (800) 336-7402 and ask for item number WI08988, or visit the NRA Online Store. The cost is $9.99 for NRA members and $19.99 for non-NRA members. Tax, shipping and handling charges not included.
The Women On Target program was launched in December 1999 and is designed to help women learn to hunt and shoot in a friendly, non-competitive environment. Women may choose from a nationwide series of ladies-only hunts, charity shoots and instructional clinics. For more information, call (800) 861-1166 or log onto www.nrahq.org/women
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878