2aguy
Diamond Member
- Jul 19, 2014
- 112,149
- 52,402
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The answer: Crime went down, not up.
Facts About Mass Shootings Support Gun Ownership, Not Gun Control
James Craig, who returned to his native Detroit as its chief of police in June 2013, believes in the strength of a legally armed populace. After working as a police officer for nearly three decades in Los Angeles, “where ‘it took an act of Congress’ to get permission to carry a gun,” Craig transferred to Portland, Maine. There, he discovered a vastly safer city, and one where gun ownership was common. It was in Portland that Craig realized “the effect…good Americans who are armed can have on reducing violence.”
Prior to Craig’s arrival, Detroit was among the most violent cities in the country. According to FBI statistics, 80 in 1000 Detroit residents “became victims of violent or property crime each year.” In 2012, 386 criminal homicides had been reported in the city. To bring down crime rates, the new chief of police urged Detroit residents to legally and safely arm themselves.
In 2014, Craig’s department issued 1,100 handgun permits. That year, the number of home invasions decreased by 38 percent, with the numbers of shootings and robberies likewise decreasing. Of the 1,800 felons queried in a 2015 survey, 57 percent identified their biggest fear as “armed citizens.”
Since Craig took over the department, Detroit has experienced “double-digit drops” in “nonfatal shootings, robberies, and carjackings.” Although the city’s levels of violence still leave much to be desired, in 2017, Detroit recorded its “lowest number of homicides since 1966.”
Craig believes a conversation surrounding guns should not be about gun control, but “crime control.” As he explains, “individuals who are criminally inclined…when in possession of a weapon, create the problems.”
Before Democrats look to new measures of gun control, they should concern themselves with the enforcement of existing gun laws, keeping weapons out of the hands of criminals, and holding accountable institutions and policies which allow threats to go undetected.
Facts About Mass Shootings Support Gun Ownership, Not Gun Control
James Craig, who returned to his native Detroit as its chief of police in June 2013, believes in the strength of a legally armed populace. After working as a police officer for nearly three decades in Los Angeles, “where ‘it took an act of Congress’ to get permission to carry a gun,” Craig transferred to Portland, Maine. There, he discovered a vastly safer city, and one where gun ownership was common. It was in Portland that Craig realized “the effect…good Americans who are armed can have on reducing violence.”
Prior to Craig’s arrival, Detroit was among the most violent cities in the country. According to FBI statistics, 80 in 1000 Detroit residents “became victims of violent or property crime each year.” In 2012, 386 criminal homicides had been reported in the city. To bring down crime rates, the new chief of police urged Detroit residents to legally and safely arm themselves.
In 2014, Craig’s department issued 1,100 handgun permits. That year, the number of home invasions decreased by 38 percent, with the numbers of shootings and robberies likewise decreasing. Of the 1,800 felons queried in a 2015 survey, 57 percent identified their biggest fear as “armed citizens.”
Since Craig took over the department, Detroit has experienced “double-digit drops” in “nonfatal shootings, robberies, and carjackings.” Although the city’s levels of violence still leave much to be desired, in 2017, Detroit recorded its “lowest number of homicides since 1966.”
Craig believes a conversation surrounding guns should not be about gun control, but “crime control.” As he explains, “individuals who are criminally inclined…when in possession of a weapon, create the problems.”
Before Democrats look to new measures of gun control, they should concern themselves with the enforcement of existing gun laws, keeping weapons out of the hands of criminals, and holding accountable institutions and policies which allow threats to go undetected.
