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Crime Prevention Research Center: Carry Laws Don’t Increase Gun Theft, Decrease Police Effectiveness

Monday, July 8, 2024

Crime Prevention Research Center: Carry Laws Don’t Increase Gun Theft, Decrease Police Effectiveness

Gun-control groups campaign against right-to-carry laws by claiming that guns carried in public pose a substantial threat to public safety, and that concealed carry permitting laws lead to more violent crime, not less. Giffords, for instance, alleges that “the dangers of permissive public carry laws” include an increase in gun thefts and “other undesirable outcomes,” with absolutely no counterbalancing public safety benefits.

Professor Carl Moody and Dr. John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) have just released an updated paper, How Does Concealed Carrying of Weapons Affect Violent Crime? (May 31, 2024). These researchers examined information related to claims that carry concealed weapons (CCW) laws indirectly increase violent crime by driving up firearm thefts or by decreasing police effectiveness. Using a unique new data set that employs the number of permit holders as the variable of interest, the authors found no evidence that CCW laws are associated with significant increases in gun thefts or impact the effectiveness of police.  

On gun thefts generally, an existing government source on how criminals obtain their firearms suggests that only a small amount of crime guns are acquired by theft. A Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016 (Jan. 2019) shows that only 6.4% of state and federal prisoners who had possessed a firearm during the offense for which they were serving time listed “theft” (burglaries, thefts from retail sources or a family/friend, or “other”) as their gun source.

Previous literature from the CPRC indicates that CCW permit-holders are unlikely to be violent criminals – in fact, as a class they tend towards the extreme opposite end of the law-abiding spectrum. In jurisdictions where information on crimes and permits is available, it shows that permit-holders are less likely to drive recklessly or under the influence than non-permittees, and permit-holders are “convicted of firearms-related violations at one-twelfth the rate of police officers.”  

Professor Moody and Dr. Lott analyzed the theft question (whether CCW permit holders are a significant source of stolen guns beyond the amount expected due to the existing burglary rate) using variables that included the number of CCW permits (and a dummy variable for constitutional carry laws), the number of stolen guns, and the burglary rate as a control. “Stolen guns,” they conclude, “are apparently independent of CCW permits or permitless carrying.” The evidence revealed that neither the number of CCW permits nor the effect of constitutional carry laws had a significant impact on the rate at which guns are stolen. Constitutional carry states do not have significantly higher gun theft rates but, because most of the constitutional carry laws are relatively recent (since 2015), “it may be too early to draw any conclusions” on their impact.

The second issue examined was whether CCW permit-holders were associated with declines in police effectiveness, measured as the clearance rate of violent crimes. Variables included the clearance (arrest) rates and the number of crimes recorded for several given violent crimes types. Here, too, the analysis showed that “police effectiveness is unrelated to either the number of CCW permits and or existence of constitutional carry laws.”

These results confirm what many in the Second Amendment community know already – that despite all the spurious rationalizations advanced against lawful carrying, CCW permittees and others carrying responsibly are not the ones who threaten public safety or produce more crime.     

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U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

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Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

U.S. Representative Suggests TRIPLING ($600) Suppressor Tax!

News  

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

U.S. Representative Suggests TRIPLING ($600) Suppressor Tax!

Excellent news for gun owners came last week when the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes the complete removal of suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA). 

Loot Canal: U.S. Taxpayers Funded Bizarre Dental “Gun Violence” Research

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Loot Canal: U.S. Taxpayers Funded Bizarre Dental “Gun Violence” Research

When the Biden-Harris administration made clear they intended to use a “whole-of-government” approach to suppress Second Amendment rights, few could have predicted their efforts would extend all the way to the dentist’s office.

Australia’s Gun Laws, Failing in Different Ways

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Australia’s Gun Laws, Failing in Different Ways

Everything is relative, so the saying goes, which means that once in a while, it’s instructive to read about the gun laws and the state of gun rights in other countries. 

Twenty-four State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Pass H.R. 38

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Twenty-four State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Pass H.R. 38

On May 21, two dozen state attorneys general sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging that body to pass H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

ATF Updates “Brady Permit Chart,” Reduces Need for Redundant NICS Checks

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

ATF Updates “Brady Permit Chart,” Reduces Need for Redundant NICS Checks

We have been reporting on recent reforms by ATF to make its operations more transparent, professional, and public safety focused and less openly hostile to law abiding gun owners and the industries that serve them. 

Anti-gun Shakedown Machine Now Targets Toy Gun Sellers

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Anti-gun Shakedown Machine Now Targets Toy Gun Sellers

The pro-Second Amendment community understands that guns are not toys.

Texas Bill Would Put Local “Buybacks” Out of Business, Ending an Anti-gun Charade

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Texas Bill Would Put Local “Buybacks” Out of Business, Ending an Anti-gun Charade

As Texas House Bill 3053 heads to Governor Abbott’s desk, it is serving as a broader reminder to all states of the gun “buybacks” scam, only this time with a legislative solution to this anti-gun mainstay.

Florida: Governor DeSantis Signs Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Florida: Governor DeSantis Signs Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies

Yesterday, May 28, Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 6025 into law protecting our Second Amendment Rights during a state of emergency. The new law became effective upon the governor's signature.  

Illinois: Legislature Advances Sweeping Gun Control

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Illinois: Legislature Advances Sweeping Gun Control

Yesterday, the Illinois House passed House Bill 850, legislation that drastically alters the definition of “clear and present danger” under the FOID and Concealed Carry License (CCL) framework. This bill now moves to the Senate ...

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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.