Does the drop in crime have anything to do with the surge in gun sales?

It very well could explain the drop in crime especially considering all those out of work. Obama was the best thing to ever happen to the firearms industry yet his position at the same time threatens the future of the industry. Quite the dichotomy.

In the "Wild West" people were very polite to each other too.

MAYBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

If you don't believe it put a sign in your front yard that reads "no guns here".

Most thugs are cowards, by nature, and will think twice about victimizing someone who might be armed, since the odds are not stacked in their favor of coming out of such a confrontation unscathed.

If I were a criminal and notoced a spike in gun sales I would find a new means of income

Would you want or plan to attack/rob/home invade if you thought you might well be shot? Of course not. My son-in-law and daughter have the concealed carry, I have one, spent 25 years in the Army----won't use the weapon unless it's the last resort. Also Secretary of our local Gun Club. Reload and carry a .44SPC Bulldog. If I have to use it, it'll do the job. Daughter carries a S&W; Lady Smith .357. Taught her gun safety and shooting that began around 8yrs old. No accidents, no mishandling. Competition shooting is a very safe and enjoyable sport (sister is in the Ohio Shooter's Hall of Fame, Trapshooting.) Go to your local gun club----int the 50yrs I've been a member we've never had an accident.

No.

Yes. During the past year, not just a few home invaders, would be robbers, and muggers have been killed, or seriously maimed by gun wielding citizens.

Taking guns away from law abiding citizens only hurts them. Allow them to keep their guns and your average home invader, or car-jacker will be discouraged from committing those crimes.

Duh!!!

It makes sense to me. If I was a thug, and was going up to mug somebody, if I thought they might be able to shoot me I would certainly be less likely to go on the attack. I don't think everybody should just be allowed to carry a gun around without proper training on how to use it. The government could turn this into a money opportunity. They could open training facilities, which would open up some new jobs, and charge everybody for the training and license, just like they do for driving a car. It's a win win, people are safer, government has more cash flow.

Agreed. The fees hould be nominal and the training available in every community of any size, similar to the availability of DMV offices. Already, 10 million + citizens with concealed carry licenses (and that number is increasing at a faster than previous rate) are proving safer and more effective in use-of-force than even the American law enforcement community.

I hope the government sees it this way and does something about it.

Technically, however thanks to our wonderful economy and narcotic culture I do not see crime going down, but rather the reverse happening. I have never seen so much metal thievery and home invasions in my life as are happening now, not even the bronze veterans markers in cemetaries and man hole covers are safe where I live.

I think whoever is saying crime is going down is fabricating numbers.

According to the Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice/Bureau of Justice Statistics which gets it's numbers from both independent studies and it's own research, and the FBI Crime Report for the past two decades, "violent" crime like murder, rape, home burglaries, and various types of assault and strong armed robberies have indeed gone down, notably due to the presence of more guns in the hands of more citizens, including 10 million + (and rising) concealed carry licenses.

Granted, other crimes like theft of property, petty theft, grand larceny and crimes that greatly limits or eliminates a criminal's contact with the victim are on the increase. A notable exception to that statistic is the rise in home invasions in private homes and hotels/motels/inns. Home invasions are committed by very desperate criminals usually looking for drugs or high dollar items to sell for drugs. All the more reason to be as armed and ready in the home as outside of the home.

Crime went down in the United States but In Mexico however crime has gone up exponentially and coincidentaly most of those guns come from the US.

Maybe the Obama administration should stop arming drug cartels?

By the way: Guns are illegal in Mexico.

I thought it was due to the surge in welfare hand outs.

Yes, and the Mexican drug cartels are not law abiding people.

While crime is far too complex an issue to list a single cause for changes in it's rates, it is fact that gun ownership has increased while crime has dropped.

Even if we can't prove 100% that more guns reduce crime.

We can prove that guns don't cause more crime.

Drop in crime? I don't know where you live but crime has skyrocketed in my hometown.

That may be true,

But overall nationwide, violent crime has dropped.

While during that same time gun ownership has increased.

If you are in a gun control town such as Chicago or Washington DC, that is very probably true.

Or Los Angeles or San Francisco.

You mean California, one of the few states where concealed carry is not legal?

Yep.

Someone even wrote a book about it, unsurprisingly entitled "More guns, less crime!"

To me it's a big DUH. If the only ones who have guns are the bad guys, that emboldens them, because their intended victim can't fight back. When they are faced with higher odds of their intended victim killing them, they think harder about assaulting them.

Have you ever noticed that all of the massacres of our day have happened in the same place: GUN-FREE ZONES? All a GUN-FREE ZONE is is a SITTING DUCK ZONE.

BAN GUN-FREE ZONES and end mass shootings.

They have surged because law abiding citizen`s want to be able to defend themselves. The criminal`s and gang`s can get them anytime they want to and unlike our gov`t. officials the American people do not have body guards.

There is a drop in crime? Never know it by watching the news in Houston.

The news looks for crimes. Ask around in your neighborhood to get the real crime stats.

People who are not afraid to stand up to thugs, or punks , will have their day.

Numerous studies show that the more guns in the hands of law-abiding people, the lower the crime rates.

yep, come on in and see what i bought just for you. and i have my handy pocket model too.

In countries where gun ownership has been severely reduced or outlawed, such as New Zealand, lawlessness has increased exponentially. It makes sense: criminals know that people can't defend themselves, so they go on an endless crime spree. Citizens have the right to be able to defend their property and lives. The criminals will not wait until the police arrive before committing crimes! Not saying negative things about law officers, but they can't be everywhere at once!

And restricting gun sales does not prevent crime in the least. The criminals will obtain them no matter how may laws there are to outlaw firearms.

Proven over and over! Bottom line is it is all about respect. Anywhere guns have been outlawed the crime rate has risen dramatically. Simple truth the left is to inept to understand.

The statisitics are in and prove that more guns in the hands of non criminals equal more safety for everyone.

Funny how that works.

Only the really stupid, still believe the lie of "More guns cause more crime!"

Washington D.C. has had virtually a *TOTAL BAN* ban on functional gun ownership since 1976 and yet *during the heart* of its gun ban, D.C. had a murder rate of 56.9 per 100,000. Meanwhile, just *3 MILES* away, just across the river is Arlington, Virginia, where according to the Brady Center, laws concerning gun ownership are "extremely lax". In Arlington, Virginia, with it's "extremely lax" gun control law, the murder rate was just 1.6 per 100,000, *less than 3%* of the Washington, D.C. rate. (Crime in the United States, FBI, 1998)

Chicago has similarly harsh gun control laws. And similarly high crime rates.