ABSTRACT
The central rationale for gun control as a means of violence control seems eminently commonsensical—guns are dangerous and their use elevates the risk that a victim of violence will die. The rationale for gun control on which supporters have relied for over 20 years is based on an unduly simplified conception of the role of weaponry in human violence. The picture is complicated even further by the fact that the use of guns by crime victims to defend themselves is effective both in preventing completion of the crime and in preventing injury to the victim. Firearms probably are more lethal than knives and other weapons that could be substituted for guns, though not nearly to the degree that gun control advocates have claimed. The resulting gun carrier profiles could facilitate more selective targeting and efficient use of street searches and the deterrence of gun carrying, hopefully without damaging police-community relations.
