NRA-ILA: Decrease in 2009 Murder Rate in Prelim FBI Report

[Skiprr]

From the NRA-ILA Alerts mailing that came in a a couple of hours ago:

FBI Reports Huge Decrease In Murders As Firearm, Ammunition And "Large" Magazine Sales Soar‏

Last week, the FBI issued its preliminary 2009 crime report, showing that the number of murders in the first half of 2009 decreased 10 percent compared to the first half of 2008. If the trend holds for the remainder of 2009, it will be the single greatest one-year decrease in the number of murders since at least 1960, the earliest year for which national data are available through the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Also, the per capita murder rate for 2009 will be 51 percent lower than the all-time high recorded in 1991, and it will be the lowest rate since 1963 - a 46-year low. Final figures for 2009 will be released by the FBI next year.

According to gun control supporter dogma - "more guns means more crime" - the number of privately owned firearms must have decreased 10 percent in 2009. To the contrary, however, the number rose between 1.5 and 2 percent, to an all-time high. For the better part of the last 15 months, firearms, ammunition, and "large" ammunition magazines have been sold in what appear to be record quantities. And, the firearms that were most commonly purchased in 2009 are those that gun control supporters most want to be banned - AR-15s, similar semi-automatic rifles, and handguns designed for defense. The National Shooting Sports Foundation already estimates record ammunition sales in 2009, dominated by .223 Remington, 7.62x39mm, 9mm and other calibers widely favored for defensive purposes.

Also indicative of the upward trend in firearm sales, the number of national instant check transactions rose 24.5 percent in the first six months of 2009 compared to the first six months in 2008, the greatest increase since NICS' inception in 1998. Through the end of October, NICS transactions rose18 percent, compared to the same period in 2008.

More Guns Means More Crime? Hardly. In 2009, more guns meant less crime, in a very, very big way.

Now we'll watch and see how the Brady Bunch tries to spin this. The final FBI UCR will be interesting to see when it comes out next year...

[surprise_i'm_armed]

The increased gun ownership in the USA, IMHO, could result
in lowering crime for 1 or both of the following reasons:

1. Criminals are more afraid to commit their crimes since
they know that more of the law abiding population is packing.

or

2. Any one criminal commits a large number of criminal acts,
so for every criminal who is shot to death while doing evil, that
eliminates many crimes into the future.

Personally, I'd like to believe it's #2, more than #1.

SIA

[joe817]

SIA, your reason #2 makes more sense to me too. A career criminal or gang banger, IMO, won't change his way with a little(if any) jail time. Only when the BG is removed from society for good, then he/she is prevented from making Lord knows, how many criminal acts in the future.