The preliminary Uniform Crime Reports are in for 2009, and the results are promising. Murder is down 10%, robberies are down 6.5%, and motor vehicle thefts are oddly down 18.7%. As many in our camp have pointed out, this takes place during an unprecedented year-long surge in firearms ownership. According to NICS, there are at least 25 million more guns in circulation than there were before the election.
The obvious conclusion is that more guns do not equal more crime.
However, this does not mean there is a direct relationship between increased firearms ownership and this drastic decline in crime. Without more data, causality would be difficult to prove, so that’s probably a point best avoided in debate for now.