>Thing is, Walter's ravings are typical of someone who spouts off without first looking at the facts. The statistics show that in areas of the US where citiziens have the right to carry a concealed weapon, crime rates are lower. Why is this? Because the criminals don't know who is carrying a gun, and they don't want to risk getting killed for their crime. In areas were guns owners rights are restricted, crime rate are higher because the criminals know that there's a lesser chance of the victim defending himself.

Or is it that the rules are tougher in places that have higher crime rates in the first place? That places with less serious crime problems are more likely to allow people to carry guns because they view it as less of a problem.

That is, the statistics don't tell us which is the cause and which is the effect, just that there's correlation.

Tamar