Firearms, Crime, and Violence

8% of violent crimes in the US are committed by offenders visibly armed

with a gun
"National Crime Victimization Survey: Criminal Victimization, 2008." By Michael
R. Rand. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, September
2009.http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv08.pdf
US Civilians use guns to defend themselves and others from crime at least
989,833 times per year
o "Measuring Civilian Defensive Firearm Use: A Methodological
Experiment." By David McDowall and others. Journal of Quantitative
Criminology, March
2000.http://www.springerlink.com/content/rngn3274255v6j67/
In 1976, the Washington, D.C. City Council passed a law generally
prohibiting residents from possessing handguns and requiring that all
firearms in private homes be (1) kept unloaded and (2) rendered temporally
inoperable via disassembly or installation of a trigger lock. The law became
operative on Sept. 24, 1976.
o Legal brief 07-290: "District of Columbia and Adrian M. Fenty, Mayor of the
District Of Columbia, Petitioners, v. Dick Anthony Heller, Respondent. In
the Supreme Court of the United States." By Linda Singer (Attorney
General for the District of Columbia) and others. January 4,
2008. http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/pdfs/07-08/
On June 26, 2008, the US Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling, struck down this
law as unconstitutional.
o Ruling: District Of Columbia v. Heller. U.S. Supreme Court, June 26, 2008.
Case 07-290. Decided 5-4. Majority: Scalia, Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas,
Alito. Dissenting: Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg,
Breyer. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=

During the years in which the D.C. handgun ban and trigger lock law was in
effect, the Washington, D.C. murder rate averaged 73% higher than it was at
the outset of the law, while the U.S. murder rate averaged 11% lower.
o "Uniform Crime Reporting Program, District of Columbia, 1960-2008."
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services

Division. Data supplied to Just Facts on June 15, 2010. Data

available upon request.
o "Uniform Crime Reporting Program, United States, 1960-2008." Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services Division.
Data supplied to Just Facts on June 15, 2010. Data available upon
request.

In 1997, Britain passed a law requiring civilians to surrender almost all

privately owned handguns to the police. More than 162,000 handguns and
1.5 million pounds of ammunition were "compulsorily surrendered" by
February 1998. Using "records of firearms held on firearms certificates,"
police accounted for all but fewer than eight of all legally owned handguns
in England, Scotland, and Wales.
o "Home Office: Handgun Surrender and Compensation." House of
Commons, Committee of Public Accounts, June 21,
1999. http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/

The homicide rate in England and Wales has averaged 52% higher since
the outset of the 1968 gun control law and 15% higher since the outset of
the 1997 handgun ban.
o "Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2008/09." Edited by
Kevin Smith and John Flatley. UK Home Office, January 21, 2010.
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb0110.pdf

On October 1, 1987, Florida's right-to-carry law became effective. This law

requires that concealed carry licensees be 21 years of age or older, have
clean criminal/mental health records, and complete a firearms
safety/training course.
o Carrying Concealed Weapons in Self-Defense: Florida Adopts Uniform
Regulations for the Issuance of Concealed Weapons Permits." By Richard
Getchall. Florida State University Law Review, 1987. Pages 751791. http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Getchell1.htm

Florida Law 790.06: "Weapons and Firearms, License to Carry Concealed

Weapon or Firearm." Accessed August 30, 2010
at http://law.justia.com/florida/codes/TitleXLVI/ch0790.html

As of July 31, 2010, Florida has issued 1,825,143 permits and has 746,430
active licensees, constituting roughly 5.4% of the state's population that is
21 years of age or older.
o "Concealed Weapon / Firearm Summary Report." Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing, July 31,
2010.http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/stats/cw_monthly.html
o Calculation performed with data from the citation above and the dataset:
"Estimates of the Resident Population by Selected Age Groups for the
United States, States, and Puerto Rico: July 1, 2009." U.S. Census
Bureau, June 2010. http://www.census.gov/popest/states/asrh/SCEST2009-01.html

Since the outset of the Florida right-to-carry law, the Florida murder rate
has averaged 36% lower than it was before the law took effect, while the
U.S. murder rate has averaged 15% lower.
o "Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Florida, 1960-2008." Federal Bureau
of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services Division. Data
supplied to Just Facts on June 15, 2010. Data available upon request.

Fire arms are responsible for 0.5% of all fatal accidents annually in the US.
o "20 Leading Causes of Unintentional Injury Deaths, United States, 2007."
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for
Injury Prevention and Control. Accessed September 1, 2010
at http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10.html

Fire arms are responsible for 0.05% of all emergency room visits for nonfatal accidents in the US annually.
o "Unintentional All Nonfatal Injuries, 2007, Disposition: All Cases." U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury

Prevention and Control. Accessed September 1, 2010

at http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/nfirates2001.html