caption image_size name birth_date image article_title birth_name occupation alma_mater
john lott 245px john lott 08 may 1958 johnlott.jpg john lott
 john richard lott , jr. author , political commentator , gun rights advocate ucla
john lott

john richard lott , jr. -lrb- born may 8 , 1958 -rrb- is an american economist , political commentator , and gun rights advocate .
lott was formerly employed at various academic institutions including the university of chicago , yale university , the wharton school of the university of pennsylvania , and the university of maryland , college park , and at the american enterprise institute conservative think tank .
he is also currently a columnist for foxnews.com .
lott holds a ph.d. in economics from ucla .
he has written for both academic and popular publications .
lott is a frequent writer of op-eds , and has written seven books , including `` more guns , less crime '' , `` the bias against guns '' , and `` freedomnomics '' .
he is best known as an advocate in the gun rights debate , particularly his arguments against restrictions on owning and carrying guns .
in 2000 , nobel laureate milton friedman said that `` john lott has few equals as a perceptive analyst of controversial public policy issues . ''
newsweek referred to lott as `` the gun crowd 's guru . ''
