3.1 "Guns increase the lethality of crime."
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This article is from the talk.politics.guns Official Pro-Gun FAQ, by Ken Barnes (kebarnes@cc.memphis.edu) with numerous contributions by others.
3.1 "Guns increase the lethality of crime."
see_The Citizen's Guide to Gun Control,"by Franklin E. Zimring and
Gordon Hawkins,"Macmillan, ISBN 0-02-934830-7 (1987) [The authors
present their case in favor of "gun control," based in part upon
the lethality of firearms, termed the "instrumentality effect"
in the study of violence. Though somewhat dated, and factually
incorrect regarding a few issues (notably the provisions of the 1968
Gun Control Act, the concept of "stopping power," and the notion that
the majority of homicides are committed by individuals without prior
histories of violence), the book offers a reasoned (rather than
paranoiac) airing of the anti-gun viewpoint.]
In summary: This argument ignores that, in the absence of guns, the
younger, more agile, and/or physically stronger criminal has much less
difficulty in overpowering his victim, particularly if the victim is
elderly or disabled. This is certainly true in the case where there
are multiple assailants, since, in the absence of firearms, there is
no way for the physically weaker to overcome strength in numbers
(see 1.1.a). While the existence of guns no doubt enables people who
might not otherwise easily commit violence to do so, it also increases
the ability of victims to resist violent attacks, when they might not
otherwise be able to do so effectively. Guns are indeed "the great
equalizer," and removing them from the hands of the public at large
returns us at best to the "law of the jungle," where the weaker are prey
to the stronger; and at worst affects only the law-abiding, leaving
criminals to obtain guns by illegal means which they can then use with
impunity against the otherwise defenseless (see 3.8). Proficiency with
firearms is no guarantee of survival for potential victims of crime,
but it is surely better than submission to the mercy of criminals,
especially when that submission is compelled by government through
"gun control" laws (see 1.1). Crime is not random, and criminal
predators often choose the weakest among us for their prey, attacking
in groups to better their chances of success. Guns may increase the
lethality of crime, but for whom? The criminals, who have youth and
strength and their partners in crime on their side, and who could kill
by any number of means without a firearm? Or the victims of crime,
who all too often lack any other means to resist?
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