HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, June 16, 1999
1999 Ron Paul 62:1 Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, I recommend that
my colleagues read today’s Washington Times
article entitled “Disarming Good People” before
voting on unconstitutional and counter-effective
gun legislation. Outlined within, are
some of the disastrous consequences of enacting
more gun control. While the lawmakers
demand even more restrictions on the sale,
ownership, and the use of firearms, we currently
have the highest level of gun control in
our Nation’s history. Yet only 50 years ago,
there were no violent incidents in schools like
the recent tragedy. Instead of rushing to disarm
the law-abiding, let us first examine the
current 20,000 gun laws already on the books
for their effectiveness.
Editor’s note: The following is an open letter
from 287 economists, law-school professors
and other academics to Congress, regarding
gun-control legislation before the
House of Representatives. Some but not all
of the names of the signatories appear here.
1999 Ron Paul 62:3 After the tragic attacks at public schools
over the last two years, there is an understandable
desire to “do something.” Yet,
none of the proposed legislation would have
prevented the recent violence. The current
debate focuses only on the potential benefits
from new gun control laws and ignores the
fact that these laws can have some very real
adverse effects. Good intentions don’t necessarily
make good laws. What counts is
whether the laws will ultimately save lives,
prevent injury, and reduce crime. Passing
laws based upon their supposed benefits
while ignoring their costs poses a real threat
to people’s lives and safety.
1999 Ron Paul 62:4 These — gun control laws will primarily be
obeyed by law-abiding citizens and risk making
it less likely that good people have guns
compared to criminals. Deterrence is important
and disarming good people relative to
criminals will increase the risk of violent
crime. If we really care about saving lives we
must focus not only on the newsworthy
events where bad things happen, but also on
the bad things that never happen because
people are able to defend themselves.
1999 Ron Paul 62:5 Few people would voluntarily put up a sign
in front of their homes stating, “This home
is a gun-free zone.” The reason is very simple.
Just as we can deter criminals with
higher arrest or conviction rates, the fact
that would-be victims might be able to defend
themselves also deters attacks. Not
only do guns allow individuals to defend
themselves, they also provide some protection
to citizens who choose not to own guns
since criminals would not normally know
who can defend themselves before they attack.
1999 Ron Paul 62:6 The laws currently being considered by
Congress ignore the importance of deterrence.
Police are extremely important at deterring
crime, but they simply cannot be everywhere.
Individuals also benefit from being
able to defend themselves with a gun when
they are confronted by a criminal.
1999 Ron Paul 62:7 Let us illustrate some of the problems with
the current debate.
1999 Ron Paul 62:8 The Clinton administration wants to raise
the age at which citizens can posses a handgun
to 21, and they point to the fact that 18-
and 19-year-olds commit gun crimes at the
highest rate. Yet, Department of Justice
numbers indicate that 18- and 19-year-olds
are also the most likely victims of violent
crimes including murder, rape, robbery with
serious injury, and aggravated assault. The
vast majority of those committing crimes in
this age group are members of gangs and are
already breaking the law by having a gun.
This law will primarily apply to law-abiding
18- to-21-year-olds and make it difficult for
them to defend themselves.
1999 Ron Paul 62:9 Waiting periods can produce a cooling-off
period. But they also have real costs. Those
threatened with harm may not be able to
quickly obtain a gun for protection.
1999 Ron Paul 62:10 Gun locks may prevent some accidental
gun deaths, but they will make it difficult
for people to defend themselves from
attackers. We believe that the risks of accidental
gun deaths, particularly those involving
young children, have been greatly exaggerated.
In 1996, there were 44 accidental gun
deaths for children under age 10. This exaggeration
risks threatening people’s safety if
it incorrectly frightens some people from
having a gun in their home even though that
is actually the safest course of action.
1999 Ron Paul 62:11 Trade-offs exist with other proposals such
as prison sentences for adults whose guns are
misused by someone under 18 and rules limiting
the number of guns people can purchase.
No evidence has been presented to
show that the likely benefits of such proposals
will exceed their potential costs.
1999 Ron Paul 62:12 With the 20,000 gun laws already on the
books, we advise Congress, before enacting
yet more new laws, to investigate whether
many of the existing laws may have contributed
to the problems we currently face. The
new legislation is ill-advised.
1999 Ron Paul 62:13 Sincerely,
Terry L. Anderson, Montana State University;
Charles W. Baird, California State University
Hayward; Randy E. Barnett, Boston
University; Bruce L. Benson, Florida State
University; Michael Block, University of Arizona;
Walter Block, Thomas Borcherding,
Claremont Graduate School; Frank H. Buckley,
George Mason University; Colin D.
Campbell, Dartmough College; Robert J.
Cottrol, George Washington University;
Preston K. Covey, Carnegie Mellon University;
Mark Crain, George Mason University;
Tom DiLorenzo, Loyola College in Maryland;
Paul Evans, Ohio State University; R. Richard
Geddes, Fordham University; Lino A.
Graglia, University of Texas; John Heineke,
Santa Clara University; David Henderson,
Hoover Institution, Stanford University;
Melvin J. Hinich, University of Texas, Austin;
Lester H. Hunt, University of Wisconsin-
Madison; James Kau, University of Georgia;
Kenneth N. Klee, UCLA; David Kopel, New
York University; Stanley Liebowitz, University
of Texas at Dallas; Luis Locay, University
of Miami; John R. Lott, Jr., University
of Chicago; Geoffrey A. Manne, University of
Virginia; John Matsusaka, University of
Southern California; Fred McChesney, Cornell
University; Jeffrey A. Miron, Boston
University; Carlisle E. Moody College of William
and Mary; Craig M. Newark, North
Carolina State University; Jeffrey S. Parker,
George Mason University; Dan Polsby,
Northwestern University; Keith T. Poole,
Carnegie-Mellon University; Douglas B. Rasmussen,
St. John’s University; Glenn Reynolds,
University of Tennessee; John R. Rice,
Duke University; Russell Roberts, Washington
University; Randall W. Roth, Univ. of
Hawaii; Charles Rowley, George Mason University;
Allen R. Sanderson, University of
Chicago; William F. Shughart II, University
of Mississippi; Thomas Sowell, Stanford University;
Richard Stroup, Montana State University;
Robert D. Tollison, University of
Mississippi; Eugene Volokh, UCLA; Michael
R. Ward, University of Illinois; Benjamin
Zycher, UCLA; Todd Zywicki, George Mason
University.
