Judging by the behavior of the Michigan House of Representatives last week, one might get the impression those words were ringing in their ears. In the middle of a divisive debate over gun control, the House approved a bill to enact a version of Project Exile, a Richmond, Va., program that cracks down on gun criminals with tough mandatory-minimum prison sentences. It goes to the Senate next. It was written in January 1976. Like Project Exile, it was intended to reduce gun violence by creating a disincentive for the criminally inclined to pack heat.
Criminals ignore it.
Research on its effectiveness has been limited, and mixed. Michigan crime statistics indicated that the role of guns in crime has changed little since 1977. The same study, however, found little or no impact on the incidence of serious assault and robbery. Since the mid-'70s, overall crime is down dramatically. The number of homicides reported statewide in 1974, for instance, was 1,170.