exactly how many mass shooting events do you think there are in comparison to smaller event shootings?
I didn’t bring up mass shooters. I just talked about guns as a deterrent. Other people brought up mass shooters.
Furthermore, there are almost 12,000 robberies in the US each year using knives, over 200 by choking victims, and over 4,000 per year using blunt weapons like baseball bats.
What does that have to do with anything?
it would stand to reason that having a visible gun on you would go two ways- either the person doesn’t attack you due to fear of the weapon, or they would beat/stab you without warning or threatening the victim so they couldn’t have a chance to pull their gun out. Having a concealed weapon would give you an option to take the attacker off guard if the situation arose.
Okay, great. Then I’m sure you can back up this reasoning with data on how often this happens vs. how many times attackers are fended off in other ways.
Why is there not data on this? Aren’t all of you who are just saying “it’s logic” or “it stands to reason” curious as to why there is absolutely nothing anyone has presented so far that can back up what you say?
Google tells me concealed carry started in Georgia in 1976. And all of you expect me to believe that in 45 years we do not have any studies that show whether or not concealed carry is effective as a crime deterrent? I’m not even saying no such study exists. I’m saying that if it does exist, none of you even know and most of you don’t care either.
Because, again, we are talking about a law here. Laws, and repeals of laws, should be based on evidence, not guesses, not ‘it stands to reason,’ not ‘it’s logical to think,’ not ‘we hope.’ Evidence. And if California proposed a law requiring every gun owner to, for example, submit their weapon for regular safety inspection, I would sure hope you would demand some evidence to support such a law.
This is what bothers me so much about gun discussions overall, both people who are into guns and people who are against guns- so much resistance to evidence. So much reliance on what you think is reasonable or rational or logical.
If you want guns to be illegal, fine. Show me evidence and data from other countries to support your argument.
If you want concealed carry to be legal in California, fine. Show me evidence and data from other states that shows that it is effective and safe.