scispace - formally typeset
Open AccessJournal Article

Bias, ignorance, and gun control: a plea for education (Letter)

H. H. White
- 01 Jan 1993 - 
- Vol. 50, Iss: 4, pp 345-345
Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
Menken is quite correct in pointing out that the thousands of laws dealing with the sale, distribution, and use of firearms have failed to provide any convincing evidence of effectiveness against the rising numbers of violent crimes in America.
Abstract
To the Editor. —In his article entitled \"Grappling With the Enigma of Violence,\" 1 Menken is quite correct in pointing out that the thousands of laws dealing with the sale, distribution, and use of firearms have failed to provide any convincing evidence of effectiveness against the rising numbers of violent crimes in America. The acquisition and use of firearms for criminal purposes is not in the least way affected by statutes that govern the behavior of law-abiding citizens. The continued efforts and success of various anti-gun organizations serve only to divert our efforts and resources away from the more fundamental issues of social disorder and economic inequalities that underlie most acts of violence. Menken is wrong, however, when he suggests that proposals that encourage a ban on the private use of handguns altogether \"... merit our vigorous support.\" 1 Factual studies have shown that the legal, defensive use of firearms by

read more

Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI

Guns, Common Sense, and Science

Paul H. Blackman
- 01 May 1994 - 
TL;DR: I was stunned by Menken's response to two letters using scientific research to criticize his antigun editorial, which amounted to a footnoted name-calling combined with a sneering suggestion that the "dictates of common sense and everyday experience" are more valuable than "empirical evidence".
References
More filters
Book

Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America

Gary Kleck
TL;DR: Point Blank as discussed by the authors is a well-known book about gun violence and control in the United States, and it won the Michael J. Hindelang Award of the American Society of Criminology (ASC).
Journal ArticleDOI

Crime control through the private use of armed force

TL;DR: The use of private citizens armed with firearms against violent criminals and burglars is common and about as frequent as legal actions like arrests, is a more prompt negative consequence of crime than legal punishment and is often far more severe.
Journal ArticleDOI

Grappling with the enigma of violence. An educational approach.

TL;DR: As the authors approach the end of a millennium, neurologists and other physicians link forces with the public in asking what improvements they want to achieve in health care, and how this can be done.
Journal ArticleDOI

Guns, Common Sense, and Science

Paul H. Blackman
- 01 May 1994 - 
TL;DR: I was stunned by Menken's response to two letters using scientific research to criticize his antigun editorial, which amounted to a footnoted name-calling combined with a sneering suggestion that the "dictates of common sense and everyday experience" are more valuable than "empirical evidence".