In these politically correct days, ideology will often trump facts. This is especially true on issues such as gun control, which has passionate supporters on both sides.
Earlier this week, The New York Times condemned Florida concealed carry laws as “lethal” and “gruesome.” In the Sunshine State, it is relatively easy — if you’re a law-abiding citizen — to own handguns and to be legally entitled to carry a concealed weapon.
The problem with the NYT editorial is, although it expressed the displeasure of the Times, it contained no facts about the actual crime rates in Florida.
In fact, since what was called the Jack Hagler Self Defense Act was passed in 1987, crime in Florida has gone down.
After checking figures from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the New York Post noted, “firearm murders in Florida between 1987 and 2005 dropped in real terms to 521 from 697. Expressed as the number of firearm murders per 100,000 persons, the drop is even more dramatic, to 2.9 from 5.8. That’s a change of 50 percent. The drop in violent crime overall is less precipitous but equally steady, including drops in the rates of murder, aggravated assault, robbery, and sexual assault.”
Let’s acknowledge that a drop in crime rates will be attributed to a number of different factors. So few social scientists would claim there is a direct correlation between the state’s concealed weapons law and a drop in crime rate. But it certainly may be a factor.
When the “Self Defense Act” was passed in Florida, critics said the crime rate would increase and there would be wild west shootouts in the streets. Clearly, this hasn’t happened.
Allowing law-abiding citizens to carry weapons to defend themselves is not “lethal” or “gruesome.” It’s a reflection of the Second Amendment and, in the case of Florida, appears to be a good crime prevention measure.
The science fiction writer Robert Heinlein quipped once that an armed society is a polite society. Perhaps the saying could be modified to “A society full of polite, armed people is a polite society.”
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