The statistics showing that greater gun ownership correlates to lower violent crime are clear. John Lott spelled out in “More Guns, Less Crime” that comparisons of neighboring counties with similar populations saw violent crime decrease in the counties that allowed concealed carry, while the others rose. . . .
A small fraction of places accounts for most murders: Research by the Crime Prevention Research Center found that just 2% of U.S. counties accounted for 56% of the nation’s murders in 2020, while over 50% of counties had zero murders that year. In fact, the worst 5% of counties (mostly major cities and their cores) saw 73% of murders, whereas the safest 52% of counties (often rural or suburban) had none at all. This stark disparity shows that gun homicide is primarily an urban problem. Even within high-murder counties, violence clusters in small “hot spot” areas. For example, Los Angeles County reported that 10% of its ZIP codes accounted for 41% of murders. Boston offers a similar pattern: over half of all gun violence incidents occur on just 3% of the city’s street segments. In other words, a few neighborhoods in big cities drive a huge share of U.S. gun homicides. The average American outside these areas faces a much lower murder risk.
To help with that effort, Crime Prevention Research Center President John R. Lott Jr. just published a study that highlighted the errors of Schumer’s arguments while noting that suppressors are commonly used by plinkers and hunters in Europe as a hearing safety device.
He looked at the sound of suppressed gun shots and said they remain loud, though not at a decibel level requiring hearing protection. “In reality, AR-15s or .45-caliber handguns with suppressors still sound as loud as jackhammers within three feet. Even a 9mm handgun is as quiet as a chainsaw at a similar close range,” he said.
And he used statistics to dismiss liberal charges that they are typically used in mass shootings.
“Between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2024, only two of 104 mass public shootings involved suppressors — one in Virginia Beach (2019) and one in Milwaukee (2020). Those two cases averaged 11 casualties, while attacks without suppressors averaged 19.8,” he wrote.
Lott concluded, “One wonders whether the Democrat politicians who speak out on gun control issues have ever fired a gun or if they don’t care about the truth. Unless they are deaf, there is no way that they could have fired a gun with a suppressor and claim they are silent.”
Yet there’s an interesting correlation that’s worth talking about. Over at The Federalist, John Lott noted that as deportations increase, the homicide rate is seemingly decreasing. Yes, FBI Director Kash Patel moved a bunch of agents out of DC where they could, you know, catch bad guys, but that’s far from the only factor that may be at play. . . .
noted researcher and author, John Lott, gave several seminars. They included three seminars on “Gun Control Myths”, a seminar on “Hollywood’s Bias Against Guns”, and two seminars on “The FBI Crime Data is Politicized and a Mess”. This correspondent considers John a colleague and a friend, and has read and studied John’s academic work for decades.
When attending the seminar on The FBI Crime Data is Politicized and a Mess on Sunday, April 27th, much of the material was familiar. Some material was unfamiliar. This correspondent accepted the FBI had refused to cooperate by withholding data when John was part of the first Trump administration in 2020. The resistance was much more extensive than previously understood. A voice recording of John’s presentation is available at the Crimeresearch.org.
John Lott found significant anomalies in the way the FBI handles “active shooter” data. John and the Crime Reduction Research Center has shown many “active shooter” incidents are missing or mischaracterized in FBI data. In the National Instant background Check System (NICS) data, it appears most of the denials are false positives. Hard data on the errors found in the NICS system are not available. John has pointed out there are very few prosecutions of people who have been denied by the NICS system compared to the number of those denied. John stated NICS denials are often based on the phonetic spelling of the last name. The denials are not done with high levels of certainty. Because many people in the same ethnic group have similar sounding names, and because Blacks and Hispanics have much higher rates of felony convictions than Whites or Asians, it is likely Black and Hispanic people are denied from purchasing firearms in the NICS system at a much higher rates than people who are not Black or Hispanic. . . .
Academic John Lott says every case he has found, where guns or handguns are banned, has seen homicide rates increase. . . .
Dean Weingarten, “Wired Re-Creates Assassin’s Pistol and Silencer,” Ammoland, June 19, 2025.
At the NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta in 2025, noted researcher and author John Lott gave several seminars. They included three seminars on “Gun Control Myths”, a seminar on “Hollywood’s Bias Against Guns”, and two seminars on “The FBI Crime Data is Politicized and a Mess”. This correspondent considers John a colleague and a friend and has read and studied John’s academic work for decades.
When attending the seminar on The FBI Crime Data is Politicized and a Mess on Sunday, April 27th, much of the material was familiar. Some material was unfamiliar. This correspondent accepted that the FBI had refused to cooperate by withholding data when John was part of the first Trump administration in 2020. The resistance was much more extensive than previously understood. A voice recording of John’s presentation is available at Crimeresearch.org.
Lott found significant anomalies in the way the FBI handles “active shooter” data. John and the Crime Reduction Research Center have shown that many “active shooter” incidents are missing or mischaracterized in FBI data.
In the National Instant background Check System (NICS) data, it appears most of the denials are false positives. Hard data on the errors found in the NICS system is not available. John has pointed out there are very few prosecutions of people who have been denied by the NICS system compared to the number of those denied. John stated that NICS denials are often based on the phonetic spelling of the last name. The denials are not done with high levels of certainty. Because many people in the same ethnic group have similar sounding names, and because Blacks and Hispanics have much higher rates of felony convictions than Whites or Asians, it is likely Black and Hispanic people are denied from purchasing firearms in the NICS system at a much higher rates than people who are not Black or Hispanic.
In October 2020, John Lott was appointed as a senior adviser for research and statistics at the Office of Justice Programs. This was the second time he had worked for the government in D.C. When he got to DC, John went to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and proposed a study of the NICS denials, including data on race and sex. The BJS thought it was a great idea. . . .
I like to think I do a pretty good job of dismantling anti-gun studies. It’s not that difficult in far too many cases. I enjoy it, but I also know that I’m ultimately an amateur at it. I know a bit about how a study should be constructed, and I know how to poke holes in it.
But it’s always great to see a professional like Dr. John Lott step in.
I’ve talked a bit about the study in JAMA that claims permissive gun laws lead to more children being killed. I’ve poked my holes in it. Lott, however, is someone who conducts studies, which means he’s infinitely more qualified than I to look at a study and tear it to pieces, and that’s pretty much what he does. . . . [Much more here]
Tom Knighton, “John Lott Shreds Latest Anti-Gun ‘Study’,” Bearing Arms, June 18, 2025.
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