Ill Effects of Gun Ctrl (X-Post) | The Ill Effects of Gun Control | | Davd Mercer | | 31 October 1995 | | | | | | The problem of crime has befuddled our politicians and | | elected representatives for years. The only result has been | | a loss of our essential liberties and freedoms with no | | abatement to the threat of crime. Indeed, in the last forty | | years, our society has witnessed an increase in the rates of | | all classes of crime. Yet, recent data indicates that this | | trend is not irreversible. Our experiences in Florida and | | Oregon seem to indicate that turning back gun control laws | | and returning power to the people can be effective at | | reducing all sorts of crime | | | | How can this be? How can it be that rescinding these laws | | designed to curb crime would actually decrease the crime | | rates? After all, look at the successes of gun control: New | | York, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, and our own great state | | of California -- all havens from the gun-ridden | | crime-infested countryside. | | | | The answer to this paradox is in economics. Guns are a | | tradable commodity, and, like other tradable commodities, | | are subject to the economic laws of supply and demand. | | | | To demonstrate these concepts, take the simple orange. I | | bought this orange for sixty-five cents. Two months ago, I | | could have bought an identical orange for almost half that | | price, and, by January first, I will be paying two dollars | | or more. Or rather, I won't be paying two dollars or more | | for the orange. You see, as the price of something | | increases, a person's willingness to purchase it decreases. | | Thus in the Winter, when oranges must be imported from the | | far corners of the world, prices are higher and the chances | | you will buy one are lower. Only the very rich and those of | | us needing one for a speech will be buying. | | | | Thus, the rule of demand: demand is inversely related to | | price; when price increases, demand decreases, and when | | price decreases, demand increases. | | | | The opposite is true of supply. Have you noticed winter | | coats appearing in stores where there where none four months | | ago? Warm clothing featuring in department stores' Fall | | sales? The reason is simple: four months ago it was hot, | | no-one wanted to buy a winter coat, and, consequently, in | | order to sell the coats, prices would have to have been low. | | The lower the selling price, the smaller the profit margins, | | so fewer corporate resources were dedicated to these lower | | margin items -- better to put the tailors and seamstresses | | to work on sun-dresses and shorts. As the price has crept | | upward in recent months, more manufacturing resources have | | been put to work making coats, so now you see more of them | | in the store. | | | | The rule of supply: that supply is directly related to | | price; when prices rise, supply rises too, and when prices | | drop, supply also drops. | | | | Gun control laws are simply attempts to manipulate the | | market in firearms so as to reduce the number of guns in | | circulation. By restricting supply, gun control advocates | | hope to drive up the price of firearms and so -- remember | | the rule of demand -- reduce demand for them. Some of the | | more common attempts have been: | | | | 1. taxes and licensing fees on firearms and ammunition, | | which have the direct result of driving up prices; | | | | 2. waiting periods, which are a "time tax" on firearms; | | and | | | | 3. bans, which drive the market underground into the | | higher-priced black market. | | | | All of these methods have the effect of increasing the | | purchase price of firearms and so decrease their demand and | | circulation. So far so good. That's what we wanted, wasn't | | it? | | | | But remember the orange? Recall the two classes of people I | | said would continue to buy oranges even at Winter prices: | | the very rich, and, only half in jest did I say, those of us | | giving speeches about them. | | | | Let's concentrate on that second group because, as we all | | know, the rich are different. The second group: those with | | a special need. | | | | You and I might consider it no certainty that we will need a | | gun, so there are limits to the price we are willing to pay | | for one. But there is a class of people who can not only | | say with absolute certainty that they will be in situations | | where one is required, but actually willingly enter such | | situations: criminals. This class of people will pay just | | about any price -- certainly black market prices -- for a | | gun. | | | | Economists call this "inelastic demand." | | | | To summarize so far: although well-intentioned, traditional | | gun control laws serve only to disarm law-abiding citizens | | who were never inclined to use them in the first place. This | | is not a negligible effect. Criminological studies indicate | | that guns are used by civilians some two-and-a-half million | | times a year to prevent crimes. Imagine, if the gun control | | lobbies got all they wanted, two-and-a-half million more | | crimes this year. | | | | But this is only half the story. Gun control laws also have | | an unexpected effect on supply. Remember the coat? As | | prices rose, the number of coats for sale also rose. So it | | is with firearms. | | | | As restrictions on firearm ownership and possession raise | | the price of firearms, the black marketeers have ever more | | impetus to supply any demand that remains. | | | | We have seen this effect with narcotics. Even with -- or | | perhaps b/c of -- the total ban on these drugs, they are now | | as easy to obtain as a pack of cigarettes. Indeed, easier | | for those under 18 -- you don't get carded when you purchase | | drugs off the street. | | | | It is ironic -- and sometimes tragic -- that these laws | | designed to restrict supply actually have the opposite | | effect. Any reduction in firearm circulation due to a gun | | ban is not for lack of supply -- the black market will | | certainly supply any and all remaining demand -- but rather | | a result of the reduced demand by those who would not use | | them for malice. | | | | As we have seen with drugs, black markets increase crime. In | | the case of firearms, gun control will increase the expected | | pay-out from a burglary or robbery attempt. | | | | o The thief will be less likely to get himself injured | | or killed due to the fact that his victim will | | likely be unarmed. | | | | o Should the thief discover a gun on his victim's | | premises, the value of this booty is greatly | | increased by the higher prices he will receive on | | the black market. | | | | And firearm registration exacerbates this problem by | | providing organized crime with lists of names and addresses | | where these valuable items may be found. | | | | It is indeed unfortunate that the problem of crime cannot be | | so simply eliminated. However, these are the facts, and | | they are supported by our real-world experiences. Florida | | witnessed a sharp drop in its crime rates following the | | relaxation of some of its restrictions on possession and | | carriage of firearms, that effectively returned power to We | | the People. This is the reality, and no amount of cajoling, | | manipulation, or deception by the gun control lobbies and | | their minions can change this fact. If we are truly to make | | headway against crime, we must look at the facts and the | | evidence rather than the political rhetoric and sophistry. | |