Anti-gun advocates routinely argue that more guns will result in more crime — but the exact opposite appears to be happening in one of the most progressive cities in the United States.
The city of Detroit has seen 37 percent fewer robberies in 2014, compared to the same period in 2013. Further, there have been 22 percent fewer break-ins of businesses and homes, and 30 percent fewer carjackings.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig says the dramatic drop in these crimes is partly due to more residents arming themselves and fighting back against criminals. The police chief, who has repeatedly argued armed citizens deter crime, said “there’s no question in my mind it has had an effect.”
File-This Nov. 7, 2013, file photo shows Detroit police chief James Craig speaking with reporters at Detroit Police Public Safety Headquarters about the multiple shooting at Al's Barbershop in Detroit, Mich. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, Steve Perez, File)
“Criminals are getting the message that good Detroiters are armed and will use that weapon,” Craig told The Detroit News. “I don’t want to take away from the good work our investigators are doing, but I think part of the drop in crime, and robberies in particular, is because criminals are thinking twice that citizens could be armed.”
Though anti-gun advocates like Josh Horwitz, director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence in Washington D.C., still claim “more guns equals more crime,” a self-described former criminal offered rare insight into the mind of a criminal.
“If I was out there now robbing people these days, knowing there are a lot more people with guns, I know I’d have to rethink my game plan,” Detroit resident Al Woods said.
But Horowitz maintained that armed citizens do not deter criminals, telling The Detroit News the issue is "complicated" and "the empirical evidence shows the states with the lowest gun ownership and the tightest restrictions have the fewest instances of gun violence."
(H/T: Bearing Arms)
