EPISODE 193: “Gun Control Myths” with Dr. John Lott


We’ve all been appalled by yet another school shooting, this time in Uvalde, Texas. We want these tragedies to stop. We want to do something. 

Of course the cries to “do something” almost always means doing something about guns. Yet, the gun bill just signed into law by President Biden is unlikely to prevent future school shootings. There’s a lot of evidence to show why it won’t work, especially when existing gun laws appear to cost more lives than they save.

So says Dr. John Lott, my guest on this episode, and the nation’s leading expert on guns and gun laws. Dr. Lott, with a PhD in economics, is president of the Crime Prevention Research Center. 

With almost three decades of research, his many books including More Guns, Less Crime, The Bias Agains Guns and Gun Control Myths which show that by allowing adults to carry concealed weapons significantly reduces crime in America.

Some things you may find surprising: 

Between 1950 and May 2022, 96% of mass public shootings in the United States occurred in places where citizens were banned from carrying guns. Yet the mainstream media refuses to mention that the attacks occur in “gun-free” zones.

“If someone were threatening you or your family, would you feel safe  putting a sign in front of your home that said this home is a gun-free zone?” asks John.

America’s “average” gun crime statistics are badly distorted by black on black murders in our inner cities. Even average deaths of children killed by guns include teenagers, and most of those gun crimes are gang murders.

“When people cite the rise in “mass shootings” in America, we need to know that almost 90% are gangs fighting each other over drug turf.”

Survey data and news reports show that the fear that targeted victims might be armed deters criminals, and that guns are used in self-defense or to ward off criminal threats about 2.3 million times a year.

“Burglars in the United States spend about twice as long casing a home before they break in compared to their British counterparts. What’s the reason that they give? They’re worried about getting shot.”

In the more that 30 years since John Lott wrote More Guns, Less Crime, his facts, arguments and recommendations remain true as ever.


SUBSCRIBE TODAY


FEATURED GUESTS


Related
Episodes

Episode 255: Surprising Facts About CO2 with Dr. William Happer and Gregory Wrightstone

We’re inundated with reports from media, governments, think tanks, and “experts” saying that our climate is changing for the worse, and that it is our fault because of man-made CO2 emissions.  But despite apocalyptic predictions about climate, our earth, the planet is improving.

Watch Now

Episode 254: A Global Reality Check with Stephen Bryen

In this candid and insightful episode of the “Bill Walton Show,” Stephen Bryen, a seasoned expert with over half a century of experience in national security and arms trade, shares his incisive views on the current state of global geopolitics.

Watch Now

Episode 253: Growth, Innovation and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet w/Marian Tupy

You can’t fix what is wrong in the world if you don’t know what’s actually happening.

Polls show that most smart people tend to believe that the state of the world is getting worse. In the United States, almost 3/4 of Americans believe the world is getting worse and only 6% think it’s getting better.

But according to Marian Tupy, our guest on this episode, “this dark view of the prospects for humanity, and the natural world is, in large part, badly mistaken.”

Watch Now

Episode 252: Confronting Brute Force Economics with Robert D. Atkinson

The Chinese Communist Party sees technology innovation as the main battlefield of its industrial policy – and its ultimate weapon for achieving global dominance.

Watch Now

Episode 251: A Conversation with the Extraordinary Winsome Earle-Sears

Winsome Earle-Sears sent shock waves across Virginia and the country at large when she pulled off her stunning upset victory in November 2021 and became the first Lieutenant Governor of Virginia who is a woman, the first naturalized female citizen, the first female veteran elected to statewide office and who also happens to be black. 

Watch Now