One of the basic problems with most anti-2A arguments is that they start from bad assumptions that, then, lead to bad conclusions.
And when someone starts from bad assumptions, even if the rest of their reasoning is sound, they will usually end up with a wrong conclusion.
A perfect example is what we’re talking about today. The conclusion that we’re going to talk about is the idea that more guns equals more crime. Anti-2A activists certainly say that they believe this idea, and because they believe this idea, they try to reduce the number of guns available to anyone.
But the FBI collects data on a variety of crime statistics, including gun crime. What does their data show? A writer going by TTAG News Contributor writes,
Earlier this month, the FBI reported an estimated 18.1 percent drop in murder and non-negligent manslaughter from 2024 to 2025. Robberies fell an estimated 18.5 percent. Aggravated assault dropped 7.2 percent, and rape offenses declined an estimated 7.6 percent.
The article continues:
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms says the data has undone the “more guns = more crime” argument that anti-gun groups have leaned on for years.
“Yet here we are, following years of steady firearms sales, resulting in expanded gun ownership, and violent crime has plummeted,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “This isn’t us talking, it’s the FBI.”
That’s right, the FBI’s own statistics show that crime has fallen at the same time that more legal firearms were sold to people.
You could come to the conclusion think that correlation might actually equal causation in this case (I certainly think that having more guns in the hands of law abiding citizens has contributed to dropping crime rates, but, to be fair, there hasn’t been shown a definitive link between the two).
Of course, that begs the question that, if having more legally owned guns out there didn’t cause the reduction in crime, then what did?
I doubt that we’ll get a satisfactory answer to that question.
