For a long time, the Democratic Party has tried to make the case that firearms alone are very dangerous. Every time there's a shooting, whether it takes place in a shopping mall or a street corner, this belief is reiterated. It is not surprising that their aim is to remove as many firearms from the American populace as they can.
It's getting more difficult to accomplish this though as research continues to show that the general public is more secure when they're armed.
Consider a recent study that was conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Tennessee.
Based on the findings of the National Bureau of Economic Research's “Guns, Privacy, and Crime” Report, areas that have high levels of gun ownership, such as concealed carry permits for handguns were compared to those with the least. What was discovered was that areas with higher levels of guns were less prone to crimes.
This was clearly evident in the amount of burglaries occurring.
Based on the research, regions that had the highest number of handgun permit holders experienced 1.7 fewer weekly burglaries than the areas who did not have as many permit holders. Contrastingly, those that had the lowest percentage of people with permits had on average 1.5 more burglaries each week.
In the eyes of most individuals, that argument is only logical. Why would criminals choose to commit crimes in a region where those who reside and who work in the area are likely to be armed and defend themselves? However, the truth in the end is that they do not see the logic.
As with all types of prey, predators look for easier targets, including those who live in zip codes that do not have any gun permits in the vicinity.
How exactly do criminals find out about the presence of gun permits in any given area?
In the case of those living in Memphis, Tennessee, this information was released by the local newspaper. In the beginning, with the intention of making the information available to the public, it was hoped that the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper would shame everyone who had a permit to carry in the past. The hope was that gun-owners who did not have a permit yet would not get one in order to not have their information made public in the newspaper.
As you'd expect, this idea was quite controversial.
But, the city has discovered that making this information public offers criminals a route map of which areas are the most ideal to do their crime.
According to the study's authors, “We use detailed crime and handgun permit data from the city of Memphis to assess the impact of the database's publicity on burglaries. We discover that burglaries were higher in zip codes that had fewer permit holders, but declined in zip codes that have more permits for guns, after the database was made public.”
Thus, criminals should “infer” that the likelihood of encountering the “armed resistance” while committing their crimes is higher in certain areas and “should influence their propensity” to be a victim in the specific locations.
It's not just for planned-out crimes or heists such as burglaries. The study revealed that incidents that were less planned, such as assaults or shootings, were not as frequent in zip codes that have more firearm permit holders.
But it's a myth that guns can make us more safe.
As the study suggests, they actually help us to be safer. This may also help clarify why the number of guns owned nationwide has been increasing dramatically over the last few years.
As ABC reported in the past, minorities are among those who appear to be on the bandwagon of gun ownership.
Between 2019 and 2020, the black population's gun ownership increased approximately fifty percent. For Asians, the increase was a rise to 43 percent, and nearly 49 percent of Hispanics have started to own guns, too. It's also important to remember that around 40% of the purchases were made by first-time gun purchasers.
The media outlet, along with other sources, noted that the increase in the number of guns owned began to grow significantly under Obama's presidency. Since then, it's been growing. However, contrary to the Democratic Party's supporters' talking point, it's actually not just big, bald, southern white males who purchase guns.
It's actually people from all walks of life and zip codes.
As this study has demonstrated, revealing this information to criminals could greatly impact the timing and location of their crime.
