Posted on the FreeRepublic. I checked for an on-line version of this article, but the Social Forces Journal just lists authors and book reviews and the USC website doesn't have anything either.
Guns Don't Cause Crime, Criminals Do
Patrick D. Nolan, Ph.D.
The argument that the simple availability of handguns increases the rate of gun violence and violent crime has received yet another blow from a study by two researchers at Florida International University: Lisa Stolzenberg and Stewart D'Alessio.
Their article in the highly esteemed sociology journal Social Forces (June 2000), reports that although illegal gun availability is associated with an increase in the rates of violent crime, gun crime, and youth crime, legal gun availability is not. They note that this important distinction between legal and illegal gun availability has been ignored by previous researchers.
They use concealed weapons permits (CWP) per 100,000 population as their index of legal availability, and the number of guns reported stolen per 100,000 population as their index of illegal availability. They derive crime data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System for South Carolina, a much more reliable and detailed record of crime than that provided by the more readily available and widely used Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
Their time-series analysis focuses on 46 South Carolina counties for the four year period 1991 to 1994. It should be noted that this is before passage of the Law-Abiding Citizens Self Defense Act of 1996 which changed South Carolina from a "may issue" to a "shall issue" state.
Net of controls for a variety of factors known to affect rates of crime (e.g., poverty, unemployment, dropout rates) they find that illegal gun availability significantly and substantially affects rates of violent crime and gun crimes. A one point increase in stolen guns is associated with a one point increase, in violent crime. A two point increase in stolen guns is associated with a one point increase in the rate of gun crimes, and a ten point increase in stolen guns is associated with a one point rise in gun crimes by people under the age of 21. The statistical probability that these associations with crime rates is due to "chance" is less than one-in-a-thousand.
There are two important implications of this study for South Carolina CWP holders and CWP laws. First, given the strong effects of stolen guns on violence and crime, it is imperative that all gun owners take every care to prevent theft. Second, it is critical to reform South Carolina CWP laws so that permit holders are not forced to leave legally-carried weapons in car trunks and glove compartments, where they can be stolen, because current law prohibits carry in a myriad of places including restaurants, and churches.
Patrick D. Nolan is a Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina and a SLED-Certified Concealable Weapons Instructor
Guns Don't Cause Crime, Criminals Do
Patrick D. Nolan, Ph.D.
The argument that the simple availability of handguns increases the rate of gun violence and violent crime has received yet another blow from a study by two researchers at Florida International University: Lisa Stolzenberg and Stewart D'Alessio.
Their article in the highly esteemed sociology journal Social Forces (June 2000), reports that although illegal gun availability is associated with an increase in the rates of violent crime, gun crime, and youth crime, legal gun availability is not. They note that this important distinction between legal and illegal gun availability has been ignored by previous researchers.
They use concealed weapons permits (CWP) per 100,000 population as their index of legal availability, and the number of guns reported stolen per 100,000 population as their index of illegal availability. They derive crime data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System for South Carolina, a much more reliable and detailed record of crime than that provided by the more readily available and widely used Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
Their time-series analysis focuses on 46 South Carolina counties for the four year period 1991 to 1994. It should be noted that this is before passage of the Law-Abiding Citizens Self Defense Act of 1996 which changed South Carolina from a "may issue" to a "shall issue" state.
Net of controls for a variety of factors known to affect rates of crime (e.g., poverty, unemployment, dropout rates) they find that illegal gun availability significantly and substantially affects rates of violent crime and gun crimes. A one point increase in stolen guns is associated with a one point increase, in violent crime. A two point increase in stolen guns is associated with a one point increase in the rate of gun crimes, and a ten point increase in stolen guns is associated with a one point rise in gun crimes by people under the age of 21. The statistical probability that these associations with crime rates is due to "chance" is less than one-in-a-thousand.
There are two important implications of this study for South Carolina CWP holders and CWP laws. First, given the strong effects of stolen guns on violence and crime, it is imperative that all gun owners take every care to prevent theft. Second, it is critical to reform South Carolina CWP laws so that permit holders are not forced to leave legally-carried weapons in car trunks and glove compartments, where they can be stolen, because current law prohibits carry in a myriad of places including restaurants, and churches.
Patrick D. Nolan is a Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina and a SLED-Certified Concealable Weapons Instructor