Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Broken Research: Stanford Professor Claims RTC Laws Increase Violent Crime

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Broken Research: Stanford Professor Claims RTC Laws Increase Violent Crime

Stanford University professor and researcher John J. Donohue has released a study in which he claims to demonstrate that “right-to-carry laws increase violent crime.” At the same time, the Los Angeles Times quotes Donohue saying he wishes he “just [had] better information about the people who commit crimes who have right-to-carry permits.” Not surprisingly, he blames the NRA for his inability to find the needed information.

Perhaps it is just me, but it appears problematic to produce a study on the violence allegedly caused by “right-to-carry,” all the while admitting one’s access to information on real-world “right-to-carry” permit holders was limited.

Donohue told the Times that he could not find more data on individual “right-to-carry” permit holders because “the NRA has done quite an effective job in getting laws passed to prevent the release of that information. They obviously do it because they think it will hurt their image to have right-to-carry permit holders identified as criminals.”

Readers should note, there are some huge problems with these claims. Firstly, Donohue’s excuse for not finding more information on “right-to-carry permit holders” is actually an assertion of the very point he is unable to prove for lack of information on said permit holders. Think about it, he is admitting that he lacks information giving him more personal details on more “right-to-carry permit holders,” yet he is asserting that the NRA is working to hide this information because public knowledge of permit-holders’ criminal activity would hurt the NRA’s image.

See what he is doing? Donohue is accusing the NRA of hiding news he could not find. He is then assuming that news is bad and therefore accusing the NRA of hiding bad news to protect their image.

The second huge problem with Donohue’s claim that the NRA is hiding news is the fact that he does not provide the Times with any substantiation for the claim.

The third huge problem with Donohue’s claim is that the information he says the NRA is hiding is actually available and has been released by the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC).

For example, Oregon is a shall issue (“right-to-carry”) state and the CPRC shows that the percentage of Oregon “permit holders who were convicted of any type of felony, violent or nonviolent” in 2016 was .0074 percent. Moreover, the CPRC stresses that “these cases are unlikely to involve firearms.”

Additionally, Oklahoma is a shall-issue state and the percentage of permit holders convicted of a felony in 2016 was .0071 percent, in 2015 it was .0062 percent, in 2014 it was .0069 percent and in 2013 it was .0078 percent. Minnesota is also a shall-issue state, and the percentage of concealed permit holders convicted of assault in 2016 was .000 percent, the percentage convicted in 2015 was .000 percent and the percentage in 2014 was .000 percent. And the list goes on.

The point is simply that the information on “right-to-carry permit holders” is extant and available (CPRC found it). And without it, a study on the dangers of “right-to-carry” laws seems to be a bridge too far.

As CPRC’s John Lott commented:

Donohue claims that permit holders are committing violent crimes at high rates (actually his claim rests on them committing aggravated assaults with firearms), but the evidence from state police shows that permit holders are incredibly law-abiding. His response is that somehow all the police departments across the US are making mistakes in missing out on these crimes, but he offers no evidence for this claim. 

Take the data for Texas in the newest report from the Crime Prevention Research Center. In 2016, only 0.00067 percent of permit holders were convicted of an aggravated assault (with or without a firearm). And there is the presumption that some of Texas’ 1.2 million permit holders would have committed such a crime even if concealed handgun permits weren’t allowed. (Of course, this ignores any benefits from these permit holders.)

There is a reason that over two-thirds of published, peer-reviewed studies find that Right-to-Carry laws reduce violent crime rates in the U.S. (see https://crimeresearch.org/2014/11/do-right-to-carry-laws-reduce-violent-crime/). All but one other paper, another by these authors, has claimed that Right-to-Carry laws exert no bad influence on any violent crime rates. Donohue keeps making the same statistical mistakes over and over again, and he never even bothers to explain why he is ignoring these critiques.

In addition to the aforementioned problems with Donohue’s claims, it is also noteworthy to point out that concealed-carry permit holders—whether in a “right-to-carry” state or not—pass a background check to acquire their permits. Moreover, they are required to demonstrate knowledge regarding when it is legal to use deadly force and when it is not. All of this is to say that gun controllers are ubiquitously after illegal guns and illegal gun owners; concealed permit holders do not fit into those categories.

BY AWR Hawkins

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter @AWRHawkins, or reach him directly at [email protected].

TRENDING NOW
North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Yesterday, in Butler v. Bondi, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama held that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its statutory authority by issuing its 2024 Final Rule expanding ...

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that Americans know the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party has a better plan than their Democratic Party opponents on crime and gun control.

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Friday, October 3, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Yesterday, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief in Knife Rights, Inc. v. Bondi, urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s decision upholding the Federal ...

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

Last Monday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce published a final rule that reversed a crackdown on the commercial export of firearms from the U.S. to other countries.

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

There’s an old saying that rings especially true to Second Amendment supporters: If you don’t read the news, you’re uninformed.

Alphabet Eases the Reins on Censorship; Will Gun Content Eventually Benefit?

News  

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Alphabet Eases the Reins on Censorship; Will Gun Content Eventually Benefit?

With the free speech debate recently co-opted by one TV host’s use of false and incendiary remarks about his political opponents, it might have been easy to miss another important First Amendment story last week. 

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

News  

Monday, September 29, 2025

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

There have been multiple developments on the Canadian gun grab and ban in the last few days, but the most astounding has got to be a leaked bombshell recording of the Liberal Public Safety Minister, ...

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Friday, October 3, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Wolford v. Lopez, a challenge to Hawaii’s law forbidding carry on private property open to the public (such as restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores) ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.