Also intriguing is Lott s comparison of the effectiveness of different types of gun laws. Concealed weapons laws and enhanced sentencing regulations each decrease violent crime by 4 percent on a county level. At the state level, violent crime decreases by 10 percent after the adoption of concealed weapons laws. Violent crime actually increases 2.3 percent and 10 percent on the county and state levels, respectively, after the adoption of mandatory waiting periods the same waiting periods routinely touted as a common sense solution. The explanation is simple.
Criminals switch to less dangerous crimes when potential victims are likely to be armed.
The opposite has occurred in England, land of extremely restrictive weapons laws. Crime rates have skyrocketed in recent years. Assault occurs at a higher rate than in the United States. Homicides in England have doubled since gun control became law. The common sense of many links concealed weapons laws with accidents, often crippling or deadly.