May 21, 2008 03:38 am To the editor: A recent letter to the editor by a Mr. Shirshac (May 7) attempts to refute the argument that the armed citizen is the answer to many criminal activities. He especially mentions the school shooting at Virginia Tech. Ironically, the university shortly before this incident banned firearms from the campus, thus depriving the law-abiding the means of self-defense. He, unfortunately, falls back on the specious argument that unintended consequences would be more accidental killings, more domestic abuse situations and the like. Now he is entitled to his opinion. However, it is just an opinion, and he offers no verifiable facts to back it up. The truth is just the opposite. This will undoubtedly startle many, including Mr. Shirshac. The facts are that the armed citizen stops more than two million crimes per year. That's 2,000,000. And that is not an opinion; google Professor Kleck and study his more than two decades long research which proves my point. There was a case a few years ago of a shooting in a college in the South, where two students rushed to their cars and retrieved their handguns and rushed back to the classroom and the situation was quickly ended. Another extensive study proves the fact that where the gun ownership is high, crime is low. Do the research; google John R. Lott Jr. Statistically speaking, the rate of crime among gun owners as a group is less than that of society taken as a whole. In recent years the right to carry a firearm has been made law in over 38 states. The blood path feared by such as Mr. Shirshac did not occur. Indeed, the opposite was the result: Crime declined. The fact is you are 1,000 times more likely to be killed by your doctor than by an accident with a firearm. Do the research. I realize that the title of the newspaper page is Opinion, but I believe that opinions should be backed by verifiable facts. WILLIAM H. EMMITH Newburyport
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