Gun sales up; crime down

Before writing this column, I had considered borrowing John Lott's "More Guns, Less Crime" title, but actually, my point is somewhat different from his. I am not trying to claim that crime is reduced by more widespread firearm ownership. I acknowledge the possibility, and the obvious fact that Lott has done a far more thorough and rigorous study of the numbers than I ever will, but I personally have some doubts that violent crime numbers bear much relation at all to firearm ownership numbers. There can be little doubt that violent crime has trended steadily down for the last couple decades, while the number of privately owned firearms has increased by millions per year over the same time period--if there is any such relationship, it is clearly in the direction argued by Lott.

In the end, though, I argue that the numbers are beside the point--that point being that self-defense is a human right. Inevitably, some will use the most effective self-defense tools (firearms) for aggression, rather than self-defense. I claim that their abuse of their rights has zero bearing on whether or not anyone else's rights should be recognized. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Hope you find it worth a read.