Available data suggest that violent crime in the U.S. has not increased after the Bruen decision and, in fact, has continued to trend downward in the years following the ruling, countering the predictions of many gun‑control advocates who forecast a spike in violence after the expansion of carry rights.
Anti-gun advocates have long held that loosening concealed carry laws would result in rampant violent crime and “blood running in the streets.” So, imaging their furor when John Lott published his book More Guns, Less Crime back in 1998. “How dare Lott write such a travesty?” they decried. “Everyone knows more guns equals more crime.”
Fast forward nearly a quarter century, and gun-ban advocates again threw a fit. When the U.S. Supreme Court passed down its ruling in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, affirming that the Second Amendment protected firearms carried outside the home, gun-haters again predicted gloom and doom.
“Today’s ruling is out of step with the bipartisan majority in Congress that is on the verge of passing significant gun safety legislation, and out of touch with the overwhelming majority of Americans who support gun safety measures,” John Feinblatt, president of so-called Everytown for Gun Safety, said at the time. “Let’s be clear: the Supreme Court got this decision wrong, choosing to put our communities in even greater danger with gun violence on the rise across the country.”
By Mark Chesnut
