A BAD SOLUTION TO A NON-PROBLEM?WHY SB 1254 SHOULD HAVE BEEN STRANGLED IN ITS CRADLE

Sigh… This’ll probably cut into

my Cheetos budget sumpin’

fierce…

WHAT DO THESE HAVE IN COMMON?1. Decca Records execs following the Beatles’ 1962 audition:

”…guitar groups are on the way out" and "The Beatles have no future in show business…”

2. "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

3. "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -- Western Union internal memo, 1876.

4. "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." -- Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

5. Butch Otter signs SB 1254

THE ANSWER?

If you said “These are all manifestations of severe recto-cranial inversion” then you are WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER.

SB 1254 will permit those holding concealed weapons permits (sometimes referred to as CCWs) to carry their weapons on state college campuses in Idaho.

Are Idaho campuses hotbeds of criminality and vice, where only the armed and vigilant are safe? Will CCWs finally bring an end to the reign of terror caused by the countless mass school shootings that haven’t actually happened?

WHAT DO THE DATA SAY?

1. During the three year period from 2009 through 2011, the UI Campus Safety report cited zero cases of murder or manslaughter (both negligent and non-negligent), 19 cases of forcible sexual assault, and four cases of aggravated assault.

2. For comparison’s sake, WSU reported zero homicides (including murder and manslaughter) for the period 2010 – 2012, 28 forcible sexual assaults, and 10 cases of aggravated assault.

3. On both campuses the most common forms of crime are alcohol-related offenses and burglaries. Think for a moment how the presence of guns on campus might interact with those kinds of crime…

IS CRIME GETTING WORSE?

WHY GUNS DON’T BELONG ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: THE PUBLIC HEALTH ARGUMENT

Fun fact: who is most at risk when a person owns a gun?

a. Evildoers

b. Communists

c. “Thugs”

d. The gun owner

Gun owners are at greater risk of suicide than are non-owners, even when controlling for other risk factors. A study published in the International Review of Law and Economics found a 0.5 – 0.9 increase in the number of suicides for each 1% increase in the number of households with guns.

Furthermore, in the wake of a mass shooting in 1996, Australia imposed stricter gun ownership laws and instituted a buy-back of firearms; this was followed by a significant decrease in the number of suicides by firearm without a concomitant increase in the number of suicides by other methods.

SO WHAT?

College students are particularly vulnerable to depression, which is a known risk factor for suicide. The combination of academic pressures, social dislocation, relationship issues and financial strain places students at risk for depression; the presence of another significant risk factor (gun ownership) further increases the overall suicide risk.

GUNS AREN’T THE ONLY WAY TO COMMIT SUICIDE, BUT THEY ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE

  Fatal Nonfatal Total % Fatal

Firearm 16,869 2,980 19,849 85%

Suffocation 6,198 2,761 8,959 69%Poisoning/  overdose 5,191 215,814 221,005 2%

Fall 651 1434 2,085 31%

Cut/pierce 458 62,817 63,275 1%

Other 1,109 35,089 36,198 3%

Unspecified 146 2097 2,243 7%

Total 30,622 322,991 353,613 9%

Source: Vyrostek SB, Annest JL, Ryan GW. Surveillance for fatal and nonfatal injuries–United States, 2001. MMWR. 2004:53(SS07);1-57

ON AVERAGE, MORE GUNS = MORE GUN DEATHS

OTHER FUN GUN FACTS1. Drivers who carry guns are 44% more likely than unarmed

drivers to make obscene gestures at other motorists, and 77% more likely to follow them aggressively (so much for “an armed society being a polite society”).

2. There are no (zero) cases of armed citizens stopping a mass shooting incident. There is one possible instance but the “armed citizen” was actually an off-duty security guard.

3. In more than 20% of shootings in hospital ERs, the gun used was taken from an armed security guard.

4. Women are especially at risk when guns are more available. A study of femicide published in the American Journal of Public Health (2003) found that the perpetrator’s access to firearms increased the risk of violent death by a factor of seven. It should also be pointed out that men constitute the majority of gun owners.

WHY GUNS DON’T BELONG ON CAMPUS: THE ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT ARGUMENT

1. If they remained concealed, there’s little reason to believe that their presence will have any effect one way or the other. But if carried openly, they cannot help but have a chilling effect on other students’ and faculty’s sense of safety. Think for a moment of the unavoidable power dynamic between students and faculty – how might that change if there are guns in the classroom?

2. The presence of guns in the classroom can be a factor in creating what’s known as a “hostile work environment.”

BUT DOESN’T THE SECOND AMENDMENT KEEP TYRANNY AT BAY?

Sadly, there’s little empirical evidence linking democratic governance and private firearms ownership. Some dictatorships ban private gun ownership (North Korea, for instance), but so do some democracies (New Zealand and Australia both have much stricter gun laws than the US). And some dictatorships have or have had widespread gun ownership (Iraq and Yemen, for instance). Economic development and the acceptance of norms of rule of law have much more to do with democracy than the presence or absence of guns in citizens’ hands. (see next slide)

BUT ONLY LAW-ABIDING PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO GET CCWS, RIGHT?

January-February 2007: The Florida Sun-Sentinel found that the state had not suspended or revoked the licenses of 216 people with active warrants, 128 people with domestic violence restraining orders, 9 people charged with felonies or violent reckless misdemeanors, 6 registered sex offenders, and at least 1 prison inmate. Another 1,400 people who had pled guilty or no- contest to felony charges also have CCW licenses in Florida. Before the newspaper had published its investigation, however, the State of Florida admitted to only 158 criminal CCW permit holders, almost 10 times fewer than the actual number.

SO WHY THE PUSH FOR INCREASED CCWS?

If campus crime is not a significant threat in Idaho, and if guns are a known risk factor in both suicides and homicides, and if allowing guns on campus has been vocally opposed by many students, faculty, university presidents, and law enforcement officials, why the increased push for liberalized gun laws?

As usual, it helps to FOLLOW THE MUNEEZ. The gun industry and its interest group sock-puppet, the NRA, have launched a full-court press to broaden the number of institutional and geographic settings where guns are permitted.

GUN OWNERSHIP IS DECLINING, NOT INCREASING

THE NRA AND THE PUSH FOR GREATER CCW ACCESS

1. Since 2005, the gun industry and its corporate allies have given between $20 million and $52.6 million to it through the ”Ring of Freedom” sponsor program. Donors include firearm companies like Midway USA, Springfield Armory Inc, Pierce Bullet Seal Systems, and Beretta USA Corporation. Other supporters from the gun industry include Cabala’s, Sturm Ruger & Co, and Smith & Wesson.

2. The NRA has aggressively lobbied state legislatures to relax restrictions on gun possession (including “gun free zones” such as schools).

3. The gun industry has moved away from a reliance on long guns (rifles and shotguns) for market share and towards handguns marketed to the “personal defense” sector.

4. There are two reasons for the industry support for the NRA. The first is that the organization develops and maintains a market for their products.  The second, less direct function, is to absorb criticism in the event of PR crises for the gun industry.

SO WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

1. The current political environment (particularly in states like Idaho) strongly favors the gun lobby, so the status quo is likely to persist.

2. I would suggest two lines of action: for those considering getting a CCW and bringing their guns on campus, I urge that you seriously interrogate your reasons for this action. Are you willing to accept the responsibility for placing yourself and other students and faculty at greater risk? Do you consider yourself emotionally mature enough to manage this risk effectively?

3. For those who do not choose to carry guns on campus, do not allow yourself to be intimidated by those who do. And invest in a plexiglas shield for your lectern.