I recently finished a book by John Lott Jr. titled The Bias Against Guns. John separates the book into two parts. Part 1 dicusses how everything you’ve heard about guns is wrong. It talks about how the media focuses entirely on how guns are abused while completely ignoring how guns are used to prevent or reduce the effects of crime. It closes with how the government paints the same wrong picture. Part 2 is the evidence. Its 180 pages of surveys, statistics, and facts. Its 180 pages of why the government studies are wrong and the media are doing us an injustice. Its plots, figures, tables, and data, almost overwhelming. The bottom line is that gun laws cause more deaths than save, typically between 10-100x.
For instance, the idea that guns in the home kill kids. That is true. A gun in the home does provide a small, as it turns out ridiculously small, chance of the gun injuring or killing a child. It is also true that that same gun also provides a layer of defense that no other device on earth can provide. Below is an interesting table from page 138.
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Frankly, I’d rather focus on the other areas of danger; not guns. The book is very good, although the facts and data can be overwhelming. I’d strongly recommend it for anyone who thinks guns only do harm.
3 responses to “Book Review – The Bias Against Guns”
are these per year or what? only 2 0-4 year olds die per year from a handgun? that seems really low. Im pretty sure there have been that many in the valley alone.
That table compares accidental gun deaths vs. other forms of accidental gun deaths in the year 1999. The table’s point was that gun lock laws don’t save lives, but actually lose lives, due to poorly defended homes.
This guy has the most thorough research I have ever seen. He documents all of his sources. He has never been corrected, as far as I know.