Quote of the Day
Can you name me one place in the world, any place in the world, that has either banned all guns or all handguns and seen murder or homicide rates go down? Or even stayed the same? Because I can’t find it.
Every single place in the world that has done that, we’ve seen increases.
And you’d think just out of randomness, once or twice a ban on all guns or all handguns would see just out of randomness see a decrease.
John R. Lott. Jr.
Crime Prevention Research Center
March 11, 2024
Debate on the Second Amendment at the University of Wisconsin, John Lott v Sanford Levinson
Was the Second Amendment a Mistake or a Success?”
Compare Dr. Lott’s words to my Just One Question.
I expected Dr. Lott to wipe the floor with Sandy Levinson. He didn’t. It wasn’t really a debate. At one point Levinson said (paraphrasing):
I do not think the government should ban guns.
If we accept John’s evidence, then I, as a liberal, would support the government subsidizing the purchase of guns to get them in the hands of those in need who don’t have the financial means to purchase quality guns.
Levinson assertions as to the 2nd Amendment being a mistake or out of date were of the nature of it should be state and/or city power to regulate guns as they see fit for their particular circumstances. And there are other parts of the constitution which give the gun owners adequate protection. And the 2nd Amendment is about overthrowing a tyrannical government and nothing to do with self protection against violent individuals.
I thought he made arguments that could be debated and respected by reasonable people. Dr. Lott made some excellent points that severely undermined Levison’s argument, but Levinson did not spend any time as a dust mop on the floor.
See also Debate, John Lott and Sanford Levison: Was the Second Amendment a Mistake? (jpfo.org)
