New Study Finds Carry Laws Benefit Police Safety

 

New Study Finds Carry Laws Benefit Police Safety
— But waiting period laws show no impact on crime

For Immediate Release
April 30, 2001
Contact: Rebecca Rasheed
703-321-8585

(Springfield, VA) — A groundbreaking new study, soon to be released in The Journal of Law and Economics, has discovered that states implementing concealed carry laws benefit the safety of police. The author, David B. Mustard of the University of Georgia’s Department of Economics, found that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons “does not endanger the lives of officers, and may help reduce their risk of being killed.”

Gun Owners of America today noted these findings should come as no surprise. “Most Americans use their firearms in responsible ways,” said Erich Pratt, the Communications Director for GOA.

“All the fear mongering from gun grabbers is totally groundless. There have been no reported incidents of card-carrying gun toters committing crimes against police officers. But there have been hundreds of reported self-defense cases where people have used their guns to protect themselves, their families or even police.”

The report cites one such case from Phoenix, Arizona, where a permit holder used his weapon to save an officer’s life from three Mexican drug dealers. The police union was so grateful to the citizen, Rory Vertigan, that it awarded him $500 and a certificate for a replacement gun.

“Concealed carry laws are making converts all around the country,” Pratt said. “The head of the Dallas Police Association initially lobbied against the Texas carry law. But after seeing how well citizens have exercised their right to bear arms, he now favors the legislation wholeheartedly,” Pratt said.

The study quotes Senior Cpl. Glenn White, President of the 2,350-member Dallas Police Association who says, “All the horror stories I thought would come to pass didn’t happen. No bogeyman. I think it’s worked out well, and that says good things about the citizens who have permits. I’m a convert.”

The study also found that states implementing waiting periods saw no favorable impact upon their crime rates. This finding tracks with the report issued last year by the Journal of the American Medical Association, which found that states implementing waiting periods and background checks did “not [experience] reductions in homicide rates or overall suicide rates.”

The Mustard study, entitled “The Impact of Gun Laws on Police Deaths,” can be found at http://www.gunowners.org/sourcetb.htm on the internet (simply click on the top link). GOA’s Erich Pratt is available for interviews.

— GOA —