Prominent Republican Defending gun rights at the National Rifle Association convention On Friday, there were misleading claims about the effectiveness of gun restrictions, gun ownership trends, and school shooting.
This is a fact check.
What was said
“Gun control doesn’t work. Look at Chicago. If they were working, Chicago wouldn’t be the hell of a murder that has been going on for too long.” — Senate Ted Cruz, Republican, Texas. Congressman
This can be misleading. Opponents of firearms regulation often cite Chicago as a case study of why strict gun law does little to prevent murder. But this argument relies on false assumptions about the city’s gun law and gun violence.
In Chicago, there will be more shootings in 2020 than in any other US city, fueling the perception that it is the country’s capital of gun violence. However, Chicago is also the third largest city in the country. Adjusted by population, the shooting rate was 25.2 per 100,000, the 26th highest in the country in 2020. According to the data Edited by the Gun Control Advocate Everytown for Gun Safety.
The three cities with the highest shooting rates — Jackson and Miss. Gary, Indiana; St. Louis — more than double the price of Chicago. Everything is in a state with more forgiving gun law than Illinois.
Chicago’s reputation for having the strictest gun control measures in the country is outdated. Cruz quoted the city’s pistol ban — Supreme Court invalidated the ban in 2010..Appeal court Breaking the ban on carrying hidden weapons In Illinois in 2012, the state began permitting possession of hidden guns in 2013 as part of a court decision.
Today, Illinois has stricter restrictions than most states, but it does not lead the pack and is ranked 6th. Every Town Rating Of the strength of the state gun control law Report card Released by another gun control group, the Gifford Law Center.Conversely, the state was ranked 41st in Evaluation of gun rights From the Libertarian Cato Institute.
Proponents of gun control also argued that the patchwork nature of national gun law makes it difficult for states such as Illinois, which has strict restrictions on books, to actually enforce them. A 2017 survey commissioned by the City of Chicago found, for example, that 60% of guns were used for crimes and recovered in Chicago. I’m from outside the stateAdjacent Indiana as a primary source.
What was said
“For the so-called assault rifles that the Left and the media love to demonstrate, these guns were banned for a decade from 1994 to 2004, and the Justice Department examined the effects of the ban and was statistically significant. We conclude that the effect is zero. About violent crimes. “— Mr. Cruz
This is exaggerated. The Violent Crime Control Act and Law Enforcement Act 1994 The possession, transfer, or domestic production of some semi-automatic assault weapons was banned for 10 years.Commissioned by the Ministry of Justice 2004 study About the influence of the 1994 ban on offensive weapons.
Investigations have shown that assault weapons were rarely used in crime, so when updated, “the impact of the ban on gun violence is at best small and probably too small for reliable measurements.”
However, Christopher Koper, a professor at George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia, and the lead author of the study, said: repetition Said The ban had various effects overall.
“My work is often quoted in a misleading way that doesn’t give the big picture,” Koper said. I told the New York Times before.. “These laws can moderately reduce the overall number of mass shootings,” and can reduce the number and severity of mass shootings.
What was said
“Today we know that this country has fewer guns per capita than it was 50 or 100 years ago. It’s worth emphasizing. 1972, US per capita gun ownership. Was 43%. By 2021, that percentage was 42%. Gun ownership hasn’t changed... Still, there are more and more malicious acts like we saw this week. — Mr. Cruz
This can be misleading. Cruz confused and distorted gun ownership metrics, arguing that cultural issues rather than the spread of guns were due to mass shootings.
The number of guns per capita in the United States almost doubled between 1968 and 2012. According to the Congressional Research ServiceFrom 1 in 2 guns to 1 in 1 gun.Based in Switzerland Small Weapon Survey..
Mr. Cruz is probably Gallup investigation into gun ownership.. This is not a per capita measurement, but asks participants if they have a gun at home, with 43% in 1972 and 42% in 2021. However, according to past research by the University of Chicago Research Center NORC, Percentage of American households Private guns have dropped from about half in the 1970s to about one-third in recent years.
What was said
“Schools in the city center rarely have such mass shootings. I didn’t know until very recently. Think about it. Despite their location in a very harsh area, this problem There are often very high levels of crime and violence. They are far more dangerous outside of school than inside school. The reason is for decades in the city center. The school has had much stronger security measures in place, such as metal detectors and armed security guards. “— Former President Donald J. Trump
This can be misleading. Mr. Trump points out that high-mortality shootings by one person occurred primarily in suburban and rural schools, but the idea that urban schools are spared from gun violence is inaccurate. In addition, evidence does not support Mr. Trump’s proposal that the presence of armed guards prevent mass shootings.
2020 report The Government Accountability Office investigated 318 shootings from 2009-10 to 2018-19. Almost half of the shootings, 47%, occurred in urban areas, and the report said, “Urban, poor, and minority high schools overall fired more.”
There is little evidence that the presence of police or armed guards will prevent or prevent shootings at school. A 2019 Review According to the New York State School Boards Association, research on this topic was found to be “not definitive.”Researchers surveyed 133 school shootings from 1980 to 2019 Last year’s dissertation He discovered that “in these cases, there is no link between having an armed officer and deterring violence.”
What was said
“It has even been reported that the Biden administration is considering entrusting the rights of your constitutional amendment to UN bureaucrats.” — Mr. Trump
error. This was a reference to reports that the Biden administration was considering rejoining the International Arms Trade Treaty. But Mr. Trump exaggerates what the treaty does.
The 2014 Arms Trade Treaty regulates the international sale of traditional weapons (tanks, combat vehicles, warships, missiles, firearms, etc.). It does not force UN personnel to take charge of US gun law.
The United States signed the treaty but did not ratify it any further 100 other countries..Mr. Trump Announced that he will withdraw US signature during speech to NRA 2019.
The Convention aims to regulate arms sales between countries and establish international norms for dealing with illegal arms sales. It prohibits the sale of weapons to countries under arms embargo, or to countries that use them to commit genocide, terrorism, war crimes, or attacks on civilians.
In the preambleThe Convention underscores “the sovereign right of any state to regulate and control conventional weapons only within its territory in accordance with its own legal or constitutional system.”Congressional Research Service The treaty is “It does not affect the sale or trade of domestic civilian weapons.” And even if ratified, “the United States already has strong export control laws, so there should be no need to make major changes to policies, regulations or laws.” “
