WASHINGTON, DC — John R. Lott, Jr., author of More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, spoke to a standing room only crowd at the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) on Wednesday, April 26, 2000. Professor Lott is a Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School.
Professor Lott has taken on one of the most contentious debate topics in recent history, and arrives at a startling conclusion — more guns means less crime. Lott notes, “Criminals as a group tend to behave rationally — when crime becomes more difficult, less crime is committed.” Many question the results of his research, despite his sophisticated, quantitative analysis of 18 years of crime data for all 3,054 counties in the United States.
The Independent Women’s Forum believes that women have a tremendous stake in this debate, and must be truly informed on the issue.
Anita K. Blair, IWF President, says, “Women need to be aware of the facts. Prof. Lott’s studies show that when more law-abiding citizens carry guns, violent crime rates, especially for rape, decrease dramatically. Women especially, who tend to be smaller and weaker than their attackers, should have the right to choose to defend themselves with something more than a phone call to 911.”
This event was part of the Independent Women’s Forum monthly Speaker Series.