need a quick gun fact...

[TonyDedo]

Can anyone quote and cite the % of gun crime perpetrated by licensed gun owners vs. unlicensed individuals?

I'm in the middle of an ongoing debate with some antis, and that data could help.

Thanks!

-TD

 

[Admin]

http://www.goal.org/news/agfraud/fullreport.html

For many years, GOAL has filed legislation that would require the state to track whether or not firearms crimes are committed by licensed gun owners. To date, this legislation has not passed. On a national level, it is estimated (but not proven) that 99% of gun owners never commit crimes. In testimony before the legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Safety, the director of the State’s Firearms Records Bureau once testified that it was estimated that less than ½ of 1% of the state’s licensed gun owners ever come into contact with the law in a negative way.

 

[Adam_MA]

.06% of all gun related crime in the US is perpetrated by LEGAL gun owners.

BTW, 48.39% of all statistics are made up on the spot!

 

[dwarven1]

From Wisconsin Concealled Carry... http://www.wisconsinconcealedcarry.com/legislator_piece.pdf

"Over 3,700 CCW permit holders have been arrested for crimes including murder in Texas." This argument is the result of a study by the Violence Policy Center released, perhaps not coincidentally, prior to the 2000 presidential election. The VPC is a gun control advocacy group that releases dozens of studies annually.
In this instance, the VPC’s numbers are correct. However, the group did not break out the data provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety into violent vs. nonviolent crimes. Most importantly, the VPC did not compare the department’s data to the public at large.

There are 217,000 CCW permit holders in Texas. This figure gives us our control population for permit holders in that state for the period 1996 to 2000. The VPC study asserts that the licensees were arrested for violent crimes at a rate of 194 per 100,000 population, but did not mention that the rate for the rest of the public for those same crimes is 730 per 100,000. Nor did the VPC mention that 55% of those licensees arrested were later cleared of the charges.

Let's look at the VPC's numbers for non-violent crimes, which constitute the majority of the arrests. They report an arrest rate for Texas licensees of 639 per 100,000, but ignore the rate of 5,212 per 100,000 for the general public. Included in the VPC offenses are crimes such as marijuana possession, drunken driving, credit card abuse, and even hunting with an artificial light.

But it is the murder arrest suggestion that is the most serious. If a person kills another, even in self-defense, that person is going to be arrested for murder. Police officers do not have the power to dismiss charges. This is the job of the district attorney, who can decline to press charges, convene a grand jury, or go to trial.

From 1996 to 2000, 27 Texas permit holders were arrested for murder. Of these, 8 had the charges immediately dismissed. The remaining 19 went to jury trial, where 16 were found to have acted in self-defense. Three were convicted, which gives us a homicide rate of .35 per 100,000 permit holders annually. Compare this to homicide rate for the general public of 5.5 per 100,000.

Florida also provides detailed data on permit holders. From 10/1/87 through 9/30/01, Florida issued 780,840 CCW permits. During that period, only 1,396 permits were revoked for crimes committed after licensure. As of 1996, the Florida Secretary of State’s office reported that only five permit revocations were the result of a conviction for a violent crime.

A group as large as the permit-carrying population is bound to have a few miscreants in its midst. That is simple human nature. However, data from every shall-issue state shows that permit holders are overwhelmingly more law-abiding than the average citizen.

 

[Chris]

In 1987, Florida stunned the country when it made gun ownership fairly unrestricted and began issuing hundreds of thousands of concealed handgun permits. Since then, homicides are down over 40%, far lower than the national average of 21%. And, in contrary to fearful predictions of death in the streets, only 0.23% of licenses have been revoked for any violation. Only 8% of revoked licenses were because of a firearm violation, or 0.02% of the total.

--Florida Department of State - Division of Licensing. Concealed Weapons/Firearms report October 1, 1987 - February 28,1999.

 

[drgrant]

In 1987, Florida stunned the country when it made gun ownership fairly unrestricted and began issuing hundreds of thousands of concealed handgun permits. Since then, homicides are down over 40%, far lower than the national average of 21%. And, in contrary to fearful predictions of death in the streets, only 0.23% of licenses have been revoked for any violation. Only 8% of revoked licenses were because of a firearm violation, or 0.02% of the total.

I believe TX keeps track of CHL revocations and the reasons behind
them, and the results were similar to FL's. The overwhelming
majority of revocations are usually for some kind of offense
that has nothing to do with the firearm.

-Mike

 

[matt1956]

BTW, 48.39% of all statistics are made up on the spot!

 

[matt1956]

but yes, every site you look at, FBI, state, city whatever,

It always comes down to <1% of crimes with firearms are committed by legal firearms owners.

Also, if you have time, take a look at how many of them are committed by repeat offenders... it's high.... like > 70%, can't find it ATM.

Also, enlighten them to the crimes with "assault weapons", <5% is the average that I seem to come up with depending on the sorce.

or simply tell them that none of your guns have killed anyone... yet

 

[Weerd Beard]

Also note that most of these people who are using illgally got guns for crime had often committed prior crimes that would cause them to flunk a NICS check. This takes the "guns are easy to get" argument right out from under them.

Sure they're easy to get if you know a black-market dealer. Personally I don't, but then again I buy most of my guns at gun shops.

Unless its stricter sentencing guidlines for people committing crimes, any gun law in the planet will have ZERO effect on the bulk of the people committing violent crimes.

Kick some ass for us, Dude!

 

[rscalzo]

The UCR published by the FBI did not track the status of the firearm, only is one was used. Any stats on this would most likely have to come from a private or state source. I never remember any stats like that being tracked in NJ.

 

[Producer]

I think I read somewhere in a magazine, would love to see it on the web, that not one crime has been committed in the USA by a licensed fully auto firearm (unless it was stolen).

 

[rscalzo]

This reference comes from a recent FBI study on criminals and the firearms they use and how they use them:

Weapon Choice

Predominately handguns were used in the assaults on officers and all but one were obtained illegally, usually in street transactions or in thefts. In contrast to media myth, none of the firearms in the study was obtained from gun shows. What was available “was the overriding factor in weapon choice,” the report says. Only 1 offender hand-picked a particular gun “because he felt it would do the most damage to a human being.”

Researcher Davis, in a presentation and discussion for the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police, noted that none of the attackers interviewed was “hindered by any law--federal, state or local--that has ever been established to prevent gun ownership. They just laughed at gun laws.”

 

[TonyDedo]

or simply tell them that none of your guns have killed anyone... yet

that arguement won't fly - almost all my guns were purchased used, so I can't account for what they've been used for in the past. Furthermore, several of my guns are military surplus

besides, guns don't kill people...

 

[9000S]

that arguement won't fly - almost all my guns were purchased used, so I can't account for what they've been used for in the past. Furthermore, several of my guns are military surplus

besides, guns don't kill people...

Bullets do!!!!

 

[Chris]

I think I read somewhere in a magazine, would love to see it on the web, that not one crime has been committed in the USA by a licensed fully auto firearm (unless it was stolen).

Not true. I've heard of two incidents. The first was by a sworn police officer who used his registered MAC-10 to assassinate a witness. I forget the details on the second other than it was a non-violent crime.

There could be others, but those are the ones I am aware of. I'm sure that there have been one or two paper violations over the years where the BATF paperwork wasn't quite up to par.

 

[matt1956]

besides, guns don't kill people...

thats what I was getting at