A newspaper columnist in Missouri has written a column in which she attempts to refute pro-gun claims. ( http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/printer.pat,opinion/3accad9e.516,.html )
I'd appreciate it if somebody could point me to the best refutations of her suspicious statistics. Here's the relevant excerpt from her article:
Claim: Concealed-carry proponents claim: In states where there is a conceal-carry law, crime has gone down significantly.
Fact: According to a 1999 study by the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (based on FBI figures), between 1992 and 1997, in states that did not have conceal-and-carry laws, the violent crime rate fell an average of 24.8 percent.
In the 29 states studied and that have broad-reaching conceal- carry laws, the violent crime rate dropped by only 11.4 %. Nationally, during that same period, the violent crime rate fell 19.4 percent.
There was a greater reduction in crime in states without conceal-carry laws.
Claim: Carrying a gun will provide self-defense.
Fact: According to the National Institutes of Justice, on average, 16% of all police officers killed in the line of duty are killed with their own firearm that was taken from them by the assailant, despite their rigorous training. The International Brotherhood of Police Officers and the International Association of Chiefs of Police oppose passage of liberal conceal and carry laws.
Claim: Only law-abiding citizens will be allowed to get permits and when they do, they will act responsibly and won't likely commit crimes.
Fact: A study done in March 1999 by the Violence Policy Center, based on data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, shows that after Texas passed a liberal conceal-and-carry law, nearly 1,000 permit holders have been arrested for crimes that include murder, kidnapping, rape or sexual assault, and drug charges. The study further found that permit holders were arrested for weapons offenses at a rate more than twice that of the general population.