If everyone carried a gun...

[PyRo]

Would crime rates go up or down?

[Lohman446]

Would crime rates go up or down?

Down - Israel for example has very little street crime (not counting terrorism) and there are uzis on almost every corner. Of course there laws and upbringing are way different so.... Australia banned guns (entirely) and crime went up quickly

But, there are some times when you should nto carry a gun. I don't when I go to tournaments (and I legally can)... and its a good thing to.

[xmetal2001]

It would go down! Who the hell is stupid enough to rob/kill/harass/kidnap someone who has a gun on them?

[canadaguy]

im going with down. like xmetal2001 said, would u rob someone that had a gun?

[Ov3rmind]

It could be argued either way pretty easily. No one could truely know unless it really happened.

[virus]

it would go down.....

if you were a robber and there there was a good chance that the owner had a gun, you would probly move on to a house where they didnt have one... again if there was a very good chance that your next mugging victim would have a gun you would probly pass them up also....

take away legal gun ownership and only crooks and cops would have guns.... crooks very rarely get their guns legaly anyway... so we wouldnt be hindering them in anyway just making it easier for them to prey on their victims.....

[Ov3rmind]

"Robbing" people is not the only crime a gun may allow you to committ. Granted most people would be extremely cautious, not everyone is mentally stable or reasonable.

Once again, you can't prove either side unless it happened. All that's going to happen in this thread is the Conservatives coming in and saying it would eliminate crime, while the Liberals would argue that crime would increase dramatically. Neither one really knows what would happen.

[Digits]

I don't know... There are alot of hot heads who might just shoot someone for really no reason

[Lohman446]

I don't know... There are alot of hot heads who might just shoot someone for really no reason

Ok, so it woudl go up for a few years until the gene pool and those alive got sorted out a bit... but only for a few years.

[PyRo]

But the hot heads would get shot themselves if they shot someone for no reason, so they may think twice.
Of course morons would only be allowed to carry fake guns

[Ginjiroku]

It would go down! Who the hell is stupid enough to rob/kill/harass/kidnap someone who has a gun on them?

Yea but the criminal would have a gun too.

[MayAMonkeyBeYourPinata]

Most likely, more spur of the moment murders would occur. But muggings and stuff would probably go down.

[trains are bad]

Down. Very little evidence either way but what there is shows down. Not all of it though-nothing is that simple. Frankly it doesn't matter to me-people should be allowed to own and carry guns anyway. Human rights are not negotiable.

As I said to Steven, who was complaining about the concealed carry law in ohio-

"If it bothers you that much, go to NYC or washington DC-guns are pretty much illegal there."

[lew]

If EVERYONE had a gun, we'd have a serious problem and crime rates would more than likely increase. If you limited carrying rights to law abiding citizens, the crime rate would definately drop. The rate at which people who carry legally commit crimes with their weapon is really low, almost low enough to be a non-issue.
Violent crime rates in the UK have risen 51% since the 1930s when handguns were made illegal.

[1stdeadeye]

Yea but the criminal would have a gun too.

They already have them. This would just make the tables even.