Do More Guns Cause More Crime?
As noted above, Mayor Nutter’s proposed laws are based on the belief that reducing the civilian firearms inventory will reduce violent crime in Philadelphia. Such conclusions are valid only if there is some way to prove that places with a higher density of civilian firearms also experience higher rates of violent crime. One way to do so is to perform a survey, such as the one done in 2001 by the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics as part of their Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), where they asked 201,881 respondents from all over the country the following question: “Are any firearms now kept in or around your home? Include those kept in a garage, outdoor storage area, car, truck, or other motor vehicle.” The problem with surveys is that they can result in underestimates of gun ownership. There are many reasons why a respondent would deny gun ownership. Perhaps the gun is not legally owned, or maybe the owner simply wants to maintain his privacy. Perhaps
