Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
This is going to sound like a Captain Obvious moment, but restrictive gun laws make law-abiding citizens less safe. This has been shown time and time again and is a well-known fact in the gun community.
However, among anti-gunners and those who don’t know much about the topic, this reality isn’t quite so apparent. A new report provides even more evidence that gun control laws are more dangerous than allowing people to carry firearms.
Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) released a report showing that over the past 25 years, gun-related homicides have increased by 111% in Massachusetts despite its draconian gun laws. The organization conducted its analysis by looking at homicide data coming from the state. Click here for a PDF of the aforementioned report!
“What just jumps off the page is the more than doubling of gun-related homicides since the passage of the 1998 Gun Control Act,” said Jim Wallace, Executive Director of GOAL. “For more than two decades we have constantly heard that Massachusetts is leading the nation in ‘common sense’ gun control laws. Using the State’s own data, we are proving that is simply a false and dangerous narrative.”
From GOAL:
Using the State’s own data, the report reflects an 111% increase in gun related homicides since 1998. Gun related suicides are down a few points, but that marginal success is outweighed by a huge increase in suicide by hanging/suffocation. Virtually no gains have been made in accidental gun deaths as those numbers were so minuscule already.
The numbers show almost no improvement in the rate of accidental gun deaths.
The Gun Control Act imposed onerous licensing and permitting processes for anyone who wishes to own a gun legally. But since the legislation was passed, the state implemented a series of new laws, including a ban on “assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines, universal background checks, and red flag laws. Nevertheless, gun homicides increased.
The authors of the report argued that “there is absolutely no way to justify what has been done to the Second Amendment Community in the name of ‘safety.’”
It seems like common sense to most. If you make it more difficult for responsible folks to carry firearms, the only ones who benefit are violent criminals who don’t give a rip about Democrats’ cherished gun control laws.
Gun ownership has also been on the rise across the country. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this might account for the fact that defensive shootings have also risen. Between 2020 and 2021, these incidents surged by 67%.
This data reveals something progressives would rather we didn’t see: Gun control laws do not work and only lead to more gun homicides.
Another factoid the anti-gunner crowd doesn’t mention is the reality that several studies have shown guns are used far more often to defend life than to take it. This means that keeping people from obtaining the means by which they can protect themselves and their loved ones is a foolhardy endeavor.
Nevertheless, surveys continue to show that the majority of Americans still favor additional gun laws. This is likely the result of a lack of education on this issue. Most people, for instance, do not know that firearms are more likely to be used to defend life than to take it. The left has been quite proficient at selling their false narratives on the subject. Indeed, they constantly cast the “good guy with a gun” as a myth concocted by the NRA folks.
But despite the constant harping on gun control, people are still purchasing weapons at record levels, which might indicate the studies aren’t quite as accurate as they seem. Moreover, as it becomes more apparent that the police are not always able to protect folks from danger, they are realizing that their safety is their own responsibility. I’m thinking this trend will continue to change as time goes on. But it will take more people who are willing to educate the public about the issue to get people to change their minds.