Tough Targets: When Criminals Face Armed Resistance

[ELB]

The Cato Institute just published a new paper and an interactive map concerning the use of firearms by citizens. The paper was written by Clayton Cramer and David Burnett, who originally maintained Cramer's database of news stories about armed citizens before the pirates at Righthaven started their campaign (I guess it is OK to say "Righthaven" on the forum again since it has been thrashed in the courts, apparently has no money in it checking accounts, Federal Marshals have seized its assets to pay judgments, etc etc?) and sued Cramer over the news stories.

Cramer, you may recall, was the main "amateur" historian who called attention to and debunked the Bellilse (sp?) anti-gun book that purported to prove that guns were rare in America until after the Civil War -- piece of propaganda for which Bellilse received the Bancroft Prize, then had it rescinded after Cramer and others spoke up. Work by Cramer was cited by the majority opinion in Heller.

Burnett started a new site of news stories about armed citizens, but I noticed it had more or less come to a halt some time back, I am guessing because of the impending debut of the Cato interacdtive map. He is also the director of public relations for Students for Concealed Carry

It appears a new version has now sprouted under the flag of the Cato Institute. I hope this gives it a permanent and long-lived home.

Links:

New Cato Study: Tough Targets

Guns and Self-Defense (map) (there is form here to submit new news stories)

Tough Targets: When Criminals Face Armed Resistance from Citizens Abstract and links to a PDF and to buying a bound copy

[RoyGBiv]

Thanks for posting.. !

That PDF is almost 60 pages... I believe it's the full text.
Nothing to buy if you the PDF is good for you.

[philip964]

Hmmm, Colorado has a new "make my day" law.

Not sure firing with a rifle at home invaders leaving in their car is a good idea, but that is what the story said, when I clicked on Denver. I guess it beats firing at them with your pistol. Anyway sounds like the homeowner wasn't charged because of the new law.

[RoyGBiv]

I've made it to page 17 so far... I need to get SOME work done today
Still a discussion of data, background, etc...

One interesting tidbit to share... Their data showed 227 incidents of a criminal losing their gun to a prospective victim, vs only 11 going the other way... Completely blows the notion of "you'll just get shot with your own gun" out of the water.

the data set contains only 11 stories out of 4,699 where a criminal took a gun away from a defender; the reverse, as we have seen, was reported more than 20 times more often.

ETA: Here's another...

reports now indicate the rate of crimes on college campuses is rising at a time when overall crime rates are in decline. In a report by the FBI, the Secret Service, and the Department of Education, the numbers collected since 1900 show that crimes of every nature are on the rise on college campuses. Out of 110 years of data collected and studied, the past two decades account for 60 percent of the total number of crimes committed. In 2008 there were 3,287 rapes, 60 killings, 5,026 assaults, and 4,562 robberies committed across college campuses. Statistically, combining college campuses nationwide, there are about 9 sexual assaults per day.
.....
In fact, after Colorado’s 2003 concealed carry law was enacted, Colorado State University decided to allow concealed carry, while the University of Colorado prohibited firearms. The former observed a rapid decline in reported crimes, while the latter, under
the gun ban they claimed was for safety, observed a rapid increase in crime. Crime at the University of Colorado has risen 35 percent since 2004, while crime at Colorado State University has dropped 60 percent in the same time frame.