CRIME MINUS GUNS = LIVES SAVED:
NEW STUDY SHOWS LINK BETWEEN
BRADY LAW AND CRIME DEATH DROP http://handguncontrol.com/press/cphv/072700.asp
(Washington, D.C.) A new analysis of FBI crime statistics for the first five years of the Brady Law presents compelling evidence that
the lives of more than 9,000 people were saved because guns were less available to criminals. The report, Saving Lives by Taking
Guns out of Crime, was released today by the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence.
In 1997, two eminent criminologists, Frank Zimring and Gordon Hawkins, identified the "use of firearms in assault and robbery as
the single environmental feature of American society that is most clearly linked to the extraordinary death rate from interpersonal
violence in the United States." Saving Lives documents the decline in violent crime committed with guns between 1994 and 1998, as
well as the precipitous increase in violent gun crime that preceded the Brady Law's passage, from 1990 to 1993. Since assaults and
robberies committed with guns result in a higher death rate, the pre-Brady years saw a larger number of murdered crime victims than
could be accounted for by the crime rate. In the post-Brady years, the trend reversed itself; from 1994 though 1998 an estimated
9,368 fewer people died than "expected" as a result of the significant decline in the proportion of violent crimes committed with guns.
"If 500,000 felons and other prohibited purchasers - many of whom may be gun traffickers -- can't get guns the easy way at a gun
store, it's common sense to assume that fewer crimes with guns are being committed and lives are being saved," said Sarah Brady,
Chair of the Center and wife of James Brady, for whom the Brady Law is named. "This study demonstrates statistically what
common sense tells us: tough gun laws save lives."
Saving Lives builds on previous research that illustrated the value of the Brady Law. A September 1997 Center study, Traffic Stop,
showed that the Brady Law's background check and waiting period requirements disrupted interstate gun trafficking - precisely the
type of impact needed to reduce the supply of guns available in the illegal market and the use of guns in crime. Specifically, Traffic
Stop showed that states that began conducting background checks on handgun purchasers when the Brady Act was implemented in
1994 were as much as 86% less likely to be sources of guns used in crimes in other states than they were prior to when the checks
were performed. - more - In Ohio, for example, the study examined ATF data for guns traced back to that state from Illinois,
Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania -- states that accounted for more than 52% of crime guns recovered and traced back to Ohio
between 1989 and 1997. Controlling for when the guns were purchased -- pre- or post-Brady -- Ohio's share of out-of-state guns
recovered in Michigan fell by 66%, in Illinois by 87.5%, in New York by 78.5%, and in Pennsylvania by 36%. Gun dealers in
Kentucky sold a significantly smaller share of post-Brady crime guns recovered in Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania (falling by
63%, 32% and 34% respectively) compared to recovered guns acquired before Brady took effect. Guns recovered in Michigan
originally obtained in Mississippi -- another "Brady state"-- fell by 63%. These consistent results demonstrate that the Brady Law
has an effect in preventing criminals from finding the easiest state in which to "lie and buy" their way into gun purchases, so as to
bring those guns into states with tougher gun laws to commit crimes.
"By preventing gun sales to felons and other prohibited purchasers and by disrupting the movement of illegal guns across state lines,
the Brady Law reduces criminal gun use," said Dr. Douglas Weil, Director of Research for the Center. "This report quantifies in
human lives how important it is to take guns out of crime and provides compelling evidence of the life-saving impact of the Brady
Law."
The Brady Law was implemented in February 1994. Prior to its passage, 32 states had no system of background checks for gun
purchasers; a felon could walk into a gun store, sign a form stating that he or she has never been convicted of a felony, and buy a gun.
Felons were confident that their criminal records would not be discovered because the form would simply get filed away. The Brady
Law closed this "lie and buy" loophole - creating a system by which all retail gun sales today are conditioned on a background check
of the prospective buyers. Initially, Brady created a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases in combination with the
background check requirement.
The National Rifle Association led the opposition to the Brady Bill and continues to dismiss the effectiveness of the Brady Law
today. "The background check and waiting period were deemed too 'inconvenient' for gun owners," noted Dr. Weil. "This
'inconvenience' has saved thousands of lives and would have saved thousands more had the National Rifle Association not fought
passage of the Brady Bill for seven years."
Visit our website to view the Executive Summary and full text of Saving Lives by Taking Guns Out of Crime: The Drop in
Gun-Related Crime Deaths Since Enactment of the Brady Law. The report is available in Adobe Acrobat at
http://www.handguncontrol.com/research/studies/savinglives.asp.
NEW STUDY SHOWS LINK BETWEEN
BRADY LAW AND CRIME DEATH DROP http://handguncontrol.com/press/cphv/072700.asp
(Washington, D.C.) A new analysis of FBI crime statistics for the first five years of the Brady Law presents compelling evidence that
the lives of more than 9,000 people were saved because guns were less available to criminals. The report, Saving Lives by Taking
Guns out of Crime, was released today by the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence.
In 1997, two eminent criminologists, Frank Zimring and Gordon Hawkins, identified the "use of firearms in assault and robbery as
the single environmental feature of American society that is most clearly linked to the extraordinary death rate from interpersonal
violence in the United States." Saving Lives documents the decline in violent crime committed with guns between 1994 and 1998, as
well as the precipitous increase in violent gun crime that preceded the Brady Law's passage, from 1990 to 1993. Since assaults and
robberies committed with guns result in a higher death rate, the pre-Brady years saw a larger number of murdered crime victims than
could be accounted for by the crime rate. In the post-Brady years, the trend reversed itself; from 1994 though 1998 an estimated
9,368 fewer people died than "expected" as a result of the significant decline in the proportion of violent crimes committed with guns.
"If 500,000 felons and other prohibited purchasers - many of whom may be gun traffickers -- can't get guns the easy way at a gun
store, it's common sense to assume that fewer crimes with guns are being committed and lives are being saved," said Sarah Brady,
Chair of the Center and wife of James Brady, for whom the Brady Law is named. "This study demonstrates statistically what
common sense tells us: tough gun laws save lives."
Saving Lives builds on previous research that illustrated the value of the Brady Law. A September 1997 Center study, Traffic Stop,
showed that the Brady Law's background check and waiting period requirements disrupted interstate gun trafficking - precisely the
type of impact needed to reduce the supply of guns available in the illegal market and the use of guns in crime. Specifically, Traffic
Stop showed that states that began conducting background checks on handgun purchasers when the Brady Act was implemented in
1994 were as much as 86% less likely to be sources of guns used in crimes in other states than they were prior to when the checks
were performed. - more - In Ohio, for example, the study examined ATF data for guns traced back to that state from Illinois,
Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania -- states that accounted for more than 52% of crime guns recovered and traced back to Ohio
between 1989 and 1997. Controlling for when the guns were purchased -- pre- or post-Brady -- Ohio's share of out-of-state guns
recovered in Michigan fell by 66%, in Illinois by 87.5%, in New York by 78.5%, and in Pennsylvania by 36%. Gun dealers in
Kentucky sold a significantly smaller share of post-Brady crime guns recovered in Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania (falling by
63%, 32% and 34% respectively) compared to recovered guns acquired before Brady took effect. Guns recovered in Michigan
originally obtained in Mississippi -- another "Brady state"-- fell by 63%. These consistent results demonstrate that the Brady Law
has an effect in preventing criminals from finding the easiest state in which to "lie and buy" their way into gun purchases, so as to
bring those guns into states with tougher gun laws to commit crimes.
"By preventing gun sales to felons and other prohibited purchasers and by disrupting the movement of illegal guns across state lines,
the Brady Law reduces criminal gun use," said Dr. Douglas Weil, Director of Research for the Center. "This report quantifies in
human lives how important it is to take guns out of crime and provides compelling evidence of the life-saving impact of the Brady
Law."
The Brady Law was implemented in February 1994. Prior to its passage, 32 states had no system of background checks for gun
purchasers; a felon could walk into a gun store, sign a form stating that he or she has never been convicted of a felony, and buy a gun.
Felons were confident that their criminal records would not be discovered because the form would simply get filed away. The Brady
Law closed this "lie and buy" loophole - creating a system by which all retail gun sales today are conditioned on a background check
of the prospective buyers. Initially, Brady created a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases in combination with the
background check requirement.
The National Rifle Association led the opposition to the Brady Bill and continues to dismiss the effectiveness of the Brady Law
today. "The background check and waiting period were deemed too 'inconvenient' for gun owners," noted Dr. Weil. "This
'inconvenience' has saved thousands of lives and would have saved thousands more had the National Rifle Association not fought
passage of the Brady Bill for seven years."
Visit our website to view the Executive Summary and full text of Saving Lives by Taking Guns Out of Crime: The Drop in
Gun-Related Crime Deaths Since Enactment of the Brady Law. The report is available in Adobe Acrobat at
http://www.handguncontrol.com/research/studies/savinglives.asp.
