ISRA: Gun Control Makes Cities
Dangerous Places to Live
To: City and State Desk
Contact: Richard Pearson of the Illinois State Rifle
Association, 815-635-3198;
http://www.isra.org/
CHICAGO, June 25 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the
Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):
Crime statistics released Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
suggest strongly that tough gun control laws do little to curb violent crime.
According to the latest FBI Uniform Crime Reports, the U.S. murder rate jumped
3.1 percent while forcible rapes inched up 0.2 percent. Overall, the U.S.
crime rate climbed 2 percent.
Interestingly enough, cities having strict gun control laws saw their respective
crime rates jump well in excess of the national average. For example:
-- In Boston, where the state legislature recently imposed the most oppressive
gun laws in the nation, the murder rate went up a whopping 67 percent in
2001. Likewise, the rate of forcible rapes went up 11 percent.
-- Buffalo, NY, also saw a 67 percent increase in its murder rate and a 30
percent increase in its forcible rape rate in 2001. New York politicians
routinely boast about having some of the toughest state gun control laws
in the country.
-- Chicago not only outpaced the national average by posting a 5 percent
increase in its murder rate, but the city remains the odds-on favorite to
capture the title of "Nation's Murder Capitol." In Chicago, it's illegal
for citizens to own defensive handguns. The city's mayor, Richie Daley, is
currently on a personal crusade to ban civilian firearm ownership nationwide.
-- While liberal Coloradoans were busy penning legislation to clamp down
on law-abiding citizens attending gun shows, Denver saw a 40 percent increase
in its murder rate.
-- Hartford, Conn., suffered a 47 percent increase in its murder rate and
a 21 percent increase in its rape rate for 2001. The Connecticut state
legislature is busy competing with Massachusetts for the title of being the
least-friendly state to law-abiding gun owners.
-- St. Louis, Mo., prides itself as being responsible for the defeat of a
recent statewide referendum that would have allowed law-abiding citizens
to carry defensive firearms. For 2001, St. Louis saw a 19 percent increase
in its murder rate and a 7 percent jump in rapes.
On the flip side, the gun control movement has long criticized Florida for
having "lax" gun control laws -- including concealed carry. But, unlike cities
in the "gun control belt," Miami's murder and rape rates remained stable
for 2001.
"The gun control movement continues to claim that banning civilian firearm
ownership is the key to eliminating violent crime," commented ISRA president
Richard Pearson. "These latest FBI figures refute that claim. In places where
law-abiding gun owners are severely restricted, murders and rapes went way
up.
In places where law-abiding citizens are allowed to defend themselves, murders
and rapes remained relatively stable."
"The bottom line is that gun control makes raping, robbing and murdering
much easier," continued Pearson. "Therefore, people who oppose concealed
carry are, for all practical purposes, accessories to the assault, rape,
and murder of defenseless citizens. People who propose raising FOID card
fees are essentially setting poor people up for slaughter.
People who advocate firearm "waiting periods" are leaving battered women
defenseless against abusive males. And anyone claiming that gun control makes
our streets safer is either greatly misinformed, or just a liar."
------
The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful, and responsible
firearms ownership. For nearly a century, the ISRA has represented the interests
of over 1.5 million law-abiding Illinois gun owners.
http://www.usnewswire.com
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/U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
06/25 07:24
Copyright 2002, U.S. Newswire
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