bermes@ihu1m.UUCP (Terry Bermes) (01/10/85)
From "Handgun Facts" distributed by Handgun Control; Inc.:
"A study of the Bartley-Fox law in Massachusetts, which requires a
mandatory jail sentence for carrying a handgun outside one's home or place
of business without a license, was conducted by the Center for Applied Social
Research at Northeastern University. The authors concluded that there has
been a significant decrease in handgun murders, assaults and robberies since
the law was enacted in 1974. Handgun murders have dropped nearly 50%; armed
robberies more than 35%. Boston, once ranked 8th for murder in the U.S., now
ranks 19th, according to the F.B.I. Uniform Crime Reports.
In South Carolina after passage if a law requiring a waiting period and
background check, the murder rate dropped 28%. Washington, D.C., has seen a 30%
reduction in handgun death since passage of a 1977 handgun law.
Police officials in Columbus, Georgia, say the city's 3-day waiting period
and background check are extremely effective. According to the Columbus Police
Chief, "We catch two a week with felony convictions (trying to buy handguns)."
And the California Attorney General's Office reports that the state's 15 day
waiting period and background check screened out some 1,200 prohibited handgun
buyers in 1981 alone."
There is a big difference between control and banning and those who
feel that control will lead to banning are jumping the gun.:-)
Terry Bermes