What's that statistic about gun owners being less likely to commit a crime?

[bbaerst]

I remember reading on heres somewhere that the gun-owning population was something like 20% less likely to be involved in a crime...can anybody provide a source? I'd like to use it in an argument.

 

[MikeJackmin]

I don't have the specific numbers for you, but I can offer some logic to back it up.

Criminologists agree that the number one predictor for future criminal behavior is - you guessed it - past criminal behavior. Race, age, income level, and education are all less effective at predicting future criminal activity.

Needless to say, if you have gather together group of adults, all without a criminal history, you have a group of people who are very unlikely to commit a crime in the future.

(Legal) gun owner comprise just such a group. You can't own a gun if you have a previous felony conviction, and you can't own a gun if you are a minor. It's not surprising that gun owners seldom commit crimes later in life, since all of them managed to make it to adulthood without a serious criminal record.

 

[MikeJackmin]

Here you go:

http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/stats/cw_monthly.html

Between 1987 and 2005, Florida issued just over a million CCW permits. Over that time, a total of 157 of these licenses were later revoked because of a crime involving a firearm. (Note that some of these 'crimes' are things like forgetting you have a gun in your purse, and going into an airport).

Using rough numbers here... that's 157 gun crimes over about 9 million man-years - a rate of about one in 57,000!

Imagine a town of 57,000 armed people, and one gun crime per year...

 

[Mr. Mysterious]

We need to clarify the "gun owning population" because every thug that holds up a liquor store is a gun owner.

 

[Declaration Day]

I apologize for the off topic comment, but if you follow the above link, you'll see the name of the Florida Division of Licensing Commissioner's name is Charles Bronson.

For those who are too young to catch that one, run a search on the Death Wish movies.

I think it's a humorous coincidence.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

There was a study sometime that young people or teenagers who own guns are more responsible as teenagers and adults. Does anyone know about or have a link to this study?

The idea is that youngsters who own and maintain a dangerous weapon tend to be more responsible.

 

[mec]

Here's a link to the Texas CHL page with comparitive conviction rates
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/crime_records/chl/convrates.htm

 

[Hawk]

Tx DPS figures prettified by TSRA

Here