Giffords Gun Law Scorecard Does Not Promote Public Safety

Larry Keane is senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. (NSSF), the firearm industry’s trade association. He is responsible for NSSF’s legal and government relations.

His article, titled Giffords State Scorecards Wilts Under Data’s Light, clearly shows how anti-Second Amendment organizations irresponsibly skew information to sway public opinion into thinking gun laws are effective in deterring crime when in fact they are not.

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Here is the beginning of his article:

“For 15 years, the annual Giffords “Gun Law Scorecard” has been promoted as a definitive ranking of states doing the most to keep their citizens safe from criminal misuse of firearms. Legislators cite these scores during hearings; activists use them as “proof” of policy successes and media outlets repeat the grades ad nauseam without a second thought.

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“For example, while Giffords gives New York an A, it didn’t stop a number of high-profile criminal attacks this year, including United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Jets cornerback Kris Boyd, seven people from being shot on Thanksgiving eve, or at a Sweet 16 Party just this week in New York City.

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“But these scorecards are not a measure of crime trends, public safety outcomes, or even the effectiveness of firearm regulations. It is a grading system built to reward gun control compliance and shame states that defend lawful firearm ownership.

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“The defining flaw in the Giffords scorecard is the way it is constructed. Rather than beginning with criminal justice statistics or evaluating whether specific laws have reduced violent crime, the scorecard starts with a predetermined list of preferred policies. States are awarded points for passing gun and magazine bans, waiting periods, storage mandates, permit-to-purchase schemes and other restrictions on the law-abiding. Whether those measures work or deter crime is irrelevant. Giffords’ grading system doesn’t account for real-world results.

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“This is not a practical or useful analysis of safety; it is a policy report card explicitly designed to produce a desired narrative. When A’s and F’s are predetermined by the presence or absence of specific legislation, the scorecard becomes a messaging tool rather than an assessment of outcomes….”

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Read the full article here.

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