Pro firearms paper - need advice.

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ProtoformX

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Hey all.

I am currently writing a paper that is pro responsible use of firearms, and anti ridiculous anti-firearm laws.

Specifically I am focusing on CCW, and the benefits of having armed citizenry in the populace.

Can any of you fine gentlemen (or ladies) point me in the right direction as far as resources I can use to support this paper?

I'm looking for studies, professional opinions, and concrete evidence that issuing CCW's does not turn your state into the Wild West (or the Hollywood version, at least) bring about the Apocolypse, starts WW3, and that violent crime may actually be prevented or impeded by the presence of (responsible) armed citizens.

Thanks in advance!
 
the search feature is a place to start.
also this type of question appears occasionally and the responses are often along the lines of you needing to do your own homework. at the very least, give us insight into what you have researched; some conclusions you are working on and ask for guidance to other sources.
 
Well, I've heard MUCH word of mouth about violent crime rates going down in Texas when they legally allowed carry... About prison inmates interviewed, and admitting that they would not have attempted their crimes if they knew that they were in a state where people carried, etc.

It's easy enough to find people talking about this, but difficult to find actual studies.
 
@Toforo: That's been the problem so far. The info's out there, but I figured some of the old timers here might have a better idea of what's credible and what isn't given their own experience on the matter, or answering questions like mine.
 
No specific sources, but at the very least find something about how Washington DC, with some of the strictest laws in the country has one of the highest homicide rates.

I'd start by googling something along the lines of Washington DC homicide rates and gun control laws
 
+1 on the search feature. Not that I expect or ask that everyone does that, but there are boatloads of threads on this, and most don't contain the exact same info.

Do you have access to scholarly databases?
 
Paper on pro gun

Tim, do you go to PSU? I lived and worked there for 24 years and it is a strange combination of Appalachia and Acedemia. Your paper will not convince a liberal academic. I agree with the internet search and the NRA should be a good place to go. I do not know if the Second Amendment Foundation is still active but if so they would be a great source. Great shooting range out in the Barrens.
 
Tim, do you go to PSU?
Click to expand...

No, I don't. But they did earn the NCAA D1 wrestling championship this year. First time in more than 50 years for them, so I'm just giving them some recognition and respect for a change.

Your paper will not convince a liberal academic.
Click to expand...

But, he probably doesn't need to change any minds. He probably only needs to write a decent paper.

I've disagreed with a number of professors on a number of issues. As long I had more to go on than "cuz thats wut I think" we never had any issues. While most were liberal, they all graded me fairly. People here often say that students will get a poor grade if they disagree with a professor, but that hasn't been my experience at all. There must be a lot of professors out there with a lack of integrity - assuming that it actually was the disagreement that led to a poor grade, and not something else.

It is also probably worth noting that I go to a school that is relatively gun friendly. We have a trap and skeet team, and a boatload worth of orange being worn come hunting season. Not unusual for professors to hear about guns in casual conversation either. It may be different at Vassar or Columbia :neener:.
 
FBI crime stats helped when I was writing papers like this. I personally would stay away from citations from places like the NRA. It's fine to get information from them, just find someone else who echos the same idea with a quote. The NRA is not the most scholarly and unbiased of sources...

Also, I know its not thought of much in this day and age of computers and internet searches, but go through your library and see if you can find anything on this topic. I found a bunch of sources from my school's library.

Another thing I found useful was to use articles from the anti's websites. They were so easy to shoot holes in. Try running some of their "studies" through the scientific method test, or even better, use some of the things from a stats class like sample size and wording/leading questions/what an answer actually means. (In particular, look at the "guns on campus" from the brady bunch. That study was so easy to take apart I was almost laughing as I did it!)
 
gunfacts.info is the best collection of all the facts I know of. It also cites it's sources so you can dig deeper and/or list lots of sources in your bibliography.
 
VERY good stuff. Thanks guys.

And while it's true that I only need to write a decent paper, my professor DOES happen to be a Liberal anti-gun guy. He makes his stances very clear so that we know he's not HIDING any bias, and he does promise to be as impartial and objective as possible when grading... But even he agreed when I told him what my paper was on that when he has been shooting with his father in law, the guys at the range struck him as extremely responsible, and he respects that attitude towards firearms. He said he looked forward to seeing the debate from my angle (pro-guns, military, studying criminal justice) and struck me as rather pliable to the whole debate.
 
Some good sources (from a Criminal Justice/Pre-Law major done in a week! :) )

National Institute of Justice

FBI's Uniform Crime Reports

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

If you have access to a university-level articles or abstracts database, EBSCOhost or CSA Illumina's Criminal Justice Abstracts database is the best you can get.
 
The problem with relying on cherry-picked statistics without a firm, proven, factual theory to back them up is that you become easy prey to other statistics, and are doomed to lose your argument because of it.

Many of the safest cities in the world have stringent restrictions on guns. This means that the presence of liberal gun laws is neither a guarantee nor a requirement for safe cities.

Instead of opening yourself up to an easy beating by harping on statistics, it's better to use narrative logical argument, which allows you to control potential objections and keep your reasoning watertight.

What I mean is, explain step by step how allowing guns can make people safer by allowing them to protect themselves, but that banning guns cannot, in itself, make people safer because no ban can be effective in a country as saturated with guns as ours.

"What if we could get rid of all the guns?"

"We can't. And if you can come up with a method to do so, it would be illegal and unconstitutional according to the Supreme Court."

Statistics are not your friend unless you are a trained statistician who collects, analyzes and uses statistics for a living.
 
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