Gun does NOT equal cowboy!

[elSicomoro]

Warch, I agree with you in that not every study is perfect, and that correlation does not prove causation. After all, we have CCW here, and crime is apparently up in the City of Philadelphia (I'd have to look at harder numbers...stats are being flung around left and right right now due to the mayoral race).

But I think you're taking it to a bit of the extreme here...and I'm saying this as someone that was once for gun control (and voted against CCW in MO 4 years ago).

If there is a reduction in the yearly crime rate in Sarasota, FL the year after conceal and carry legistation is enacted, does that prove that the reduction is indeed caused by the presence of legal guns as deterants or is there a chance that other factors contributed to this decline?

In such a short time span (one year), with other items being constant...unless people have suddenly gotten moral transplants, I'd say that you'd have to point to CCW.

Would the crime, death and injury rate in Chicago's southside decrease when everyone is allowed to be armed?

Not everyone is allowed to be armed due to prior run-ins with the law, mental issues, etc.

And criminals don't care about gun laws--that's why they're criminals. Chicago has had a handgun ban for years now...it doesn't look like it's helped much.

But if the state of IL were to allow CCW and the City of Chicago dropped its ban on handguns, I bet one would feel more confident walking down S. Halsted with a concealed weapon...and a criminal might think twice about committing a crime. Although, criminals can be incredibly stupid. But I do think you'll see a fair drop in crime rather quickly...not massive or overwhelming, but enough to notice a difference.

So the next step is to have everyone armed more. Radar's nukes perhaps.

But only takes one well-placed bullet. You could be armed to the hilt, but one bullet in your skull will kill your ass just fine.

The cops need more firepower. I'm not convinced that gun proliferation serves as a crime deterent. I think true crime prevention addresses the motivating contexts of criminal behavior- economics, education, health, community.

I dunno...cops with more firepower COULD be helpful. But then you run the risk of moving closer to a police-like state.

And I do agree that we need to focus on the "fundamentals." Hell, that could solve a lot of problems. But until we do, people deserve to have a fair chance against a criminal, right? Police aren't going to help you after you're dead, other than tagging you and calling your relatives. Wouldn't you like the opportunity to protect yourself at the very moment a crime is going down?

If I'm not mistaken, CCW is now the law in MN...is everyone freaking out over it? Is everyone arming to the teeth? Or is life going on as normal?