Writing Essay on Gun Control

Ok… so I’m writing an essay on gun control so I can get the last bit of my high school out of the way but I’m having trouble finding good statistics that prove gun control doesn’t work. Does anybody know of any?
(I know Tim Schmidt has thrown out statistics in the past)

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You’re going to have a heck of a time finding unbiased empirical data @luke_ouellette. Congrats on wrapping up high school!

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I’m finding it hard to find something that DOESN’T support gun control.
And thanks. :smiley: I’ll be happy when I don’t have it hanging over my head anymore.

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Wondering if you would have more luck looking at this individually. For example, search for data on most tightly controlled countries, then search separately for crime stats on the same countries. You could even take multiple data sets and do correlation calculations to prove or disprove.

Here’s an idea…reach out to Mark Walters at Armed American Radio. I’ll bet he would jump at the chance to point you in the right direction. He’ll know where to look in a second! mark@armedamericanradio.org. I listen to him daily on my commute.

I would love to see what you come up with.

Good luck. :us::us::us:

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You could take violent crime stats from the FBI in areas with high gun control, and compare it to high population areas with no gun control. Like San Antonio vs. Chicago for instance. Look up how gun reporting is broken down, and how it unfairly lists accidents and suicide with murder.

Be careful on what sources you use. If you use an NRA article as a source, check the source the NRA journalist used at the bottom of the article. Here’s a couple I found really fast. Don’t forget to cite me in the APA citation format in your paper, and you can send me a check later…

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjg3pqOtbDhAhVCKawKHTEaBF8QzPwBegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fopinions%2Fi-used-to-think-gun-control-was-the-answer-my-research-told-me-otherwise%2F2017%2F10%2F03%2Fd33edca6-a851-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html&psig=AOvVaw1yzsEV4Oo0yMKx_aGGOV-u&ust=1554260342749346

I don’t know if the last link is working, but it’s an article from the Washington Post. Also I didn’t read the articles, so they may not be very good for your argument. I just copied and pasted what i found, because you have to do the work!

Good luck!

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Here’s my favorites and they’re directly on-spot for what you’re doing. These are available in kindle (cheaper), or used, or audio (via audible .com for about $10 each if you’re a member), or print copy, or maybe if you’re lucky at the library. John Lott is a statistician, IIRC, and he’s an outstanding researcher in looking for the actual data, not the political bias for either side. For research online you might search up John Lott and see what you can find.
First: John Lott Jr - More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws

and this John Lott Jr - The War on Guns: Arming Yourself Against Gun Control Lies:

and this John Lott Jr - The Bias Against Guns: Why Almost Everything You’Ve Heard About Gun Control Is Wrong

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Any statistic you find is going to be biased in one direction or another. Is like finding a non biased news station, good luck. If you do manage to find this unicorn please capture it safely so it may be studied by future generations.

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https://health.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/13362

This is a link to a UC Davis and Johns Hopkins University study that found no correlation between gun control law in CA and a reduction in gun-related deaths. Neither school can be accused of being a gun lobby/NRA mouthpiece, so this is worth its weight in gold. You will also find that, despite the byline above, the researchers contradict themselves trying to explain their findings (CA already had enhanced background check and permitting systems in place, hence the study). You can tell they were desperate to explain away their own results showing that gun control has no meaningful effect on deaths.

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https://www.dailywire.com/news/7872/7-facts-gun-crime-show-gun-control-doesnt-work-aaron-bandler

I could go on…

My son did a paper his first semester of college on why gun control doesn’t work. I read it and did some minor editing - it was a solid paper. When he turned the first draft in (not sure why students get multiple chances to turn in papers these days, but that’s another topic), the professor told him to completely redo it and choose a different topic.

My son added more research and submitted the paper on the same topic with additional supporting evidence. :smiley: I don’t know what he got on that paper :thinking:

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A couple of other places to try are the 2A Foundation they have a lot of stats on this matter. The CDC has also put out some reports on this as well. Gun owners of America also have stats too. I find a lot of info from them as well. And they’re also on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And they’re always posting stats from time to time.

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What exactly are you looking for?

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This is probably a moot point. But the USÇCA has a report called Concealed Carry: Fact or Fiction. It meets the gold standard for a serious academic paper. It was published by a respected magazine. Was vigorously peer reviewed, and does not try to interpret the facts . It just lays them out.

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