1) Gun ownership can deter crime as 34% of felons surveyed said they were deterred from committing crimes out of fear the victim may have been armed. 2) Concealed carry laws are associated with lower crime rates - the 31 states with shall issue laws have 24% lower violent crime, 19% lower murder, and 39% lower robbery rates than states that restrict concealed carry. 3) After adopting concealed carry in 1987, Florida saw declines in homicide rates of 36%, firearm homicide rates of 37%, and handgun homicide rates of 41%.

1. Stephen MooneyGun Control

2. A gun is the most effective defense against rape. When women are armed with a gun or knife an attempted rape is 10 times less likely to be completed. (Department of Justice)There are believed to be“800,000 on up to 2.4, 2.5 million defensive uses of guns” defensively each year.(Kleck)Preventing Crime

3. 34% of felons said they had been “scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim" 40% of these criminals admitted that they had been deterred from committing a crime out of fear that the potential victim was armed.”(humanevents.com) Thoughts From Criminals

4. According to Josh Sugarmann, executive director of Violence Policy Center, "We know in the District of Columbia -- where we've banned handguns -- that if you minimize the number of handguns you are going to have less shootings, a pretty simple, straightforward concept."Do Less Guns Mean Less Crime?

5. “Washington D.C. enacted a virtual ban on handguns in 1976. Between 1976 and 1991, Washington D.C.'s homicide rate rose 200%, while the U.S. rate rose 12%”(justfacts.com)DC Results

6. Concealed Carry

7. Concealed Carry By State

8. Florida adopted a right-to-carry law in 1987. Between 1987 and 1996, these changes occurred:

9. -36% Homicide Rate

10. -37% Firearm Homicide Rate

11. -41% Handgun Homicide Rate"In Florida, where 315,000 permits have been issued, there are only five known instances of violent gun crime by a person with a permit. This makes a permit-holding Floridian the cream of the crop of law-abiding citizens, 840 times less likely to commit a violent firearm crime than a randomly selected Floridian without a permit.“ (guncite.com)

12. The 31 states with shall issue laws have a 24percent lower violent crime rate, a 19 percentlower murder rate and a 39 percent lower robbery rate than states that forbidconcealedweaponsConcealed Carry (cont)

13. Over 40% increase in handgun crime after the 1997 handgun banIn fact, violence has gotten so bad that for the first time in over 100 years, English policeman are being armed with guns instead of with only billy clubs. England

14. The FBI asks police to list every homicide as murder, even if the case isn't subsequently prosecuted or proceeds on a lesser charge, making the U.S. numbers as high as possible. By contrast, the English police "massage down" the homicide statistics, tracking each case through the courts and removing it if it is reduced to a lesser charge or determined to be an accident or self-defense, making the English numbers as low as possible. (reason.com)England