Research Supports What Gun Rights Advocates Have Said for Years

By Jenn Jacques

A study conducted to determine the source of firearms used in crimes recovered by the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police found that gun rights advocates have been right for years.

The study, led by epidemiologist Anthony Fabio of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health, partnered with the Pittsburgh Police to identify the origins of the 893 firearms police recovered from crime scenes in the year 2008.

The study found that less than 1/5 of all gun crimes are committed by legal gun owners, and in nearly 8 out of 10 cases, the perpetrator was not a lawful gun owner and the weapon they used belonged to someone else.

But researchers were also attempting to learn how guns go from a legal purchase into the hands of criminals.

“All guns start out as legal guns,” Fabio said, but a “huge number of them” move into illegal hands.

“As a public-health person, I’d like to be able to figure out that path,” he added.

In most cases (62%) of recovered weapons, the gun owner didn’t know how he lost possession of their firearm. Moreover, only slightly more than 30% of guns recovered by police were reported lost or stolen by the gun owner.

The conclusion? …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms