From best-rkba@mainstream.com Fri Nov 18 15:08:34 1994 Received: from nova.unix.portal.com (nova.unix.portal.com [156.151.1.101]) by jobe.shell.portal.com (8.6.9/8.6.5) with ESMTP id PAA07773; Fri, 18 Nov 1994 15:08:33 -0800 Received: from n8ino.mainstream.com (n8ino.mainstream.com [192.231.143.2]) by nova.unix.portal.com (8.6.9/8.6.5) with ESMTP id PAA18453; Fri, 18 Nov 1994 15:08:22 -0800 Received: from (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by n8ino.mainstream.com (8.6.5/8.6.5) with SMTP id QAA25221; Fri, 18 Nov 1994 16:51:21 -0500 Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 16:51:21 -0500 Message-Id: <199411182151.QAA25221@n8ino.mainstream.com> Errors-To: listproc@Mainstream.com Reply-To: best-rkba@Mainstream.com Originator: best-rkba@mainstream.com Sender: best-rkba@Mainstream.com Precedence: bulk From: best-rkba@Mainstream.com To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: BEST-RKBA digest 147 X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Comment: Right to Keep and Bear Arms "Best of" list Status: RO BEST-RKBA Digest 147 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) CARRYING CONCEALED FIREARMS (CCW) STATISTICS by alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) 2) With CCW, Florida's Homicide Decreases While National Average Soars by alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) 3) NEWS BRIEFS and QUOTABLE QUOTES ON NRA CLOUT by alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Topic No. 1 Date: Thu, 17 Nov 1994 22:01:35 -0500 From: alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) To: best-rkba@Mainstream.com, press-release@gatekeeper.nra.org Subject: CARRYING CONCEALED FIREARMS (CCW) STATISTICS Message-ID: <9411180301.AA14191@gatekeeper.nra.org> CARRYING CONCEALED FIREARMS (CCW) STATISTICS Violent crime rates are highest overall in states with laws severely limiting or prohibiting the carrying of concealed firearms for self-defense. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 1992) - The total Violent Crime Rate is 26% higher in the restrictive states (798.3 per 100,000 pop.) than in the less restrictive states (631.6 per 100,000). - The Homicide Rate is 49% higher in the restrictive states (10.1 per 100,000) than in the states with less restrictive CCW laws (6.8 per 100,000). - The Robbery Rate is 58% higher in the restrictive states (289.7 per 100,000) than in the less restrictive states (183.1 per 100,000). - The Aggravated Assault Rate is 15% higher in the restrictive states (455.9 per 100,000) than in the less restrictive states (398.3 per 100,000). Using the most recent FBI data (1992), homicide trends in the 17 states with less restrictive CCW laws compare favorably against national trends, and almost all CCW permittees are law-abiding. - Since adopting CCW (1987), Florida's homicide rate has fallen 21% while the U.S. rate has risen 12%. From start-up 10/1/87 - 2/28/94 (over 6 yrs.) Florida issued 204,108 permits; only 17 (0.008%) were revoked because permittees later committed crimes (not necessarily violent) in which guns were present (not necessarily used). - Of 14,000 CCW licensees in Oregon, only 4 (0.03%) were convicted of the criminal (not necessarily violent) use or possession of a firearm. Americans use firearms for self-defense more than 2.1 million times annually. - By contrast, there are about 579,000 violent crimes committed annually with firearms of all types. Seventy percent of violent crimes are committed by 7% of criminals, including repeat offenders, many of whom the courts place on probation after conviction, and felons that are paroled before serving their full time behind bars. - Two-thirds of self-protective firearms uses are with handguns. - 99.9% of self-defense firearms uses do not result in fatal shootings of criminals, an important factor ignored in certain "studies" that are used to claim that guns are more often misused than used for self-protection. - Of incarcerated felons surveyed by the Department of Justice, 34% have been driven away, wounded, or captured by armed citizens; 40% have decided against committing crimes for fear their would-be victims were armed. OTHER CCW FACTS With adoption of CCW by Arizona, Tennessee and Wyoming in early 1994, 19 states have CCW laws requiring the issuance of permits to carry concealed firearms for self-defense to citizens who meet fair and reasonable state standards. Vermont, which ranks near the bottom in violent crime rates year-in and year-out, allows firearms to be carried concealed without a permit. In recent years NRA successfully fought for the adoption of favorable CCW laws now on the books in Florida (1987), Idaho (1990, amended 1991), Mississippi (1990), Montana (1991), and Oregon (1990). In recent legislative sessions, proposals for similar CCW laws have progressed in Alaska, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Anti-gun forces oppose CCW with a variety of arguments, ranging from deliberate misrepresentations of commonly available crime data to "studies" pretending to show that private ownership of firearms leads to death and injury rather than providing protection to the owner. 1. Firearms ownership opponents claim that "violent crime" went up in Florida since that state enacted CCW legislation in 1987, a misleading statement for multiple reasons: - Florida's homicide rate has declined 21% since adopting CCW in 1987. - No comparison of aggravated assault, robbery, and rape (99.3% of Florida violent crimes) beginning before 1988 is valid, according to the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement. In 1988, Florida changed its method of compiling crime statistics. - In Florida, as in the U.S., more than 70% of violent crimes do not involve guns. Violent crime rates, therefore, don't necessarily reflect violent gun-related crime trends. According to the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Reports (1992), nationwide firearms were used in the four violent crimes that make up the total "Violent Crime" category, as follows: Aggravated Assault (58% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 25%; Robbery (35% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 41%; Rapes (6% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in an estimated 5%-10% (survey data); and Homicides (1% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 68%. In Florida: Aggravated Assaults (64% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 25%; Robberies (30% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 37%; Rapes (4% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in an estimated 5%-10% (survey data); and Homicides (0.7% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 61%. 2. Anti-gunners cite "studies" they claim show that firearms kept at home are "43 times more likely" to be used to kill family members than be used for self-defense. (Other "studies" claim different ratios.) The 43:1 claim, based upon a small-scale study of Kings County (Seattle) and Shelby County (Memphis), is a fraud, because it counts as self-defense gun uses only those cases in which criminals were killed in the defender's home. Approximately 99.9% of all defensive gun uses are not fatal shootings, however -- criminals are usually frightened off, held at bay, or non-fatally wounded. Also, many defensive firearms uses occur away from home. Further, suicides were counted as "family member killings" in the "study," elevating that number more than 500%. Unfortunately, some of these "studies" are funded with taxpayer dollars, through grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a division of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. -- This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Many files are available via anonymous ftp from ftp.nra.org and via WWW at http://www.nra.org Be sure to subscribe to rkba-alert by sending: subscribe rkba-alert Your Full Name as the body of a message to rkba-alert-request@NRA.org Information can also be obtained by connecting to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 934-2121. ------------------------------ Topic No. 2 Date: Thu, 17 Nov 1994 22:03:13 -0500 From: alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) To: best-rkba@mainstream.com, press-release@gatekeeper.nra.org Subject: With CCW, Florida's Homicide Decreases While National Average Soars Message-ID: <9411180303.AA14240@gatekeeper.nra.org> With CCW, Florida's Homicide Decreases While National Average Soars Homicide Rates Per 100,000 Pop. AREA 1987* 1992 % CHANGE Florida 11.4 9.0 -21% U.S. 8.3 9.3 +12% Source: U.S. Department of Justice, F.B.I. Uniform Crime Reports * Florida adopted CCW in 1987. CCW Permits in Florida Issuance Rates Population 13,277,000 % of Floridians All - 62.7% Who Own Guns Male - 68.8% Female - 57.3% # of Floridians 8,325,000 Who Own Guns # of Permit Applications 239,411 Permits Issued 227,569 Permits Revoked Due To 18 (0.008%) Crime With Firearm Present During the 6-1/2 year period from 10/01/87 (start-up date) through 05/31/94, 227,569 CCW permits have been issued -- 69% new permits; 31% permit renewals. Less than one-quarter of 1% of permit applications have been rejected due to an applicant's criminal history; less than two-tenths of 1% have been rejected due to an "incomplete application." Two hundred permits (less than one-tenth of 1%) have been revoked because a permit holder committed some kind of a crime, though not necessarily a gun-related or violent crime. Only 18 (less than 0.008%) permits have been revoked because a permit holder committed a crime (not necessarily violent) in which a firearm was present, though not necessarily used. By contrast, the FBI reports that each year there are about 46,000 gun-related violent crimes (assaults, robberies, homicides and rapes) in Florida. Florida CCW Permit Source: Florida Department of State -- This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Many files are available via anonymous ftp from ftp.nra.org and via WWW at http://www.nra.org Be sure to subscribe to rkba-alert by sending: subscribe rkba-alert Your Full Name as the body of a message to rkba-alert-request@NRA.org Information can also be obtained by connecting to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 934-2121. ------------------------------ Topic No. 3 Date: Thu, 17 Nov 1994 22:02:44 -0500 From: alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) To: best-rkba@mainstream.com, press-release@gatekeeper.nra.org Subject: NEWS BRIEFS and QUOTABLE QUOTES ON NRA CLOUT Message-ID: <9411180302.AA14219@gatekeeper.nra.org> November 17, 1994 NEWS BRIEFS The New York Times will list Guns, Crime & Freedom on its bestseller list Nov. 20th -- the book will be ranked 13th on the paper's list for hard-cover non-fiction, according to a report in the Washington Times today. QUOTABLE QUOTES ON NRA CLOUT "The National Rifle Association...rebounded with a vengeance Tuesday (Nov. 8th) when at least a dozen of the gun-control supporters in Congress it had targeted were defeated by candidates who oppose weapons restrictions," reported Hearst News Service in the Portland Oregonian (11/10/94). "Though only one of the many forces in Tuesday's (Nov. 8th) political watershed election, the 3.5 million member NRA made an impression in political circles that could again drive home the value of its goodwill -- or the power of its ire," reported the Los Angeles Times (11/10/94). "Those folks have mastered the art of influencing federal elections," said Mike Casey of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (LA Times, 11/10/94). "They [NRA members and gun owners] alone may have well made the difference in this election," said Sen. Harris Wofford reflecting on his loss to Rick Santorum in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race (AP, 11/12/94). "NRA opposition hurts" declared US News & World Report while describing one lesson for incumbents to learn following the upset defeat of 8-term incumbent anti-gun Rep. Mike Synar (formerly D-OK) (10/3/94). "Their [NRA's] grassroots effort is the best. They are alive and well," said retiring Rep. Bill Hughes (D-NJ) (Richmond Times Dispatch, 8/15/94). "As candidates who backed gun control legislation fell one by one across the nation Tuesday night, the National Rifle Association re-emerged as a high caliber political force that politicians cross at their own peril," reported The Hill on Nov. 10, 1994. "Don't buck the NRA, or you'll pay -- as for instance, Oklahoma's Dave McCurdy paid," said columnist William Raspberry (11/14/94?) "After suffering big defeats in Congress this year on handgun control and a ban on certain assault rifles, the National Rifle Association made good on its promise not to get mad but to get even," reported the Washington Post. -- This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Many files are available via anonymous ftp from ftp.nra.org and via WWW at http://www.nra.org Be sure to subscribe to rkba-alert by sending: subscribe rkba-alert Your Full Name as the body of a message to rkba-alert-request@NRA.org Information can also be obtained by connecting to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 934-2121. ------------------------------ End of BEST-RKBA Digest 147 ***************************