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Missoula’s John Lott Testifies Before U.S. House on Gun Violence
Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Dr. John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center based in Missoula, recently testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on gun control, in which he referred to his vast research about gun violence in the U.S.
Dr. Lott was only allotted five minutes to address the subcommittee which was chaired by Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, and included comments from actual serial killers on why they choose gun-free zones for their attacks.
Missoula's Dr. John Lott Testifies Before Congressional Committee
“There are four facts I'd like to try to get across,” began Dr. Lott. “One. Over 92 percent of violent crime in America has nothing to do with firearms. That percentage has remained fairly constant for the last couple of decades. The vast majority of violent crime has nothing to do with firearms.”
Despite the heavily publicized mass shootings in the U.S., Dr. Lott said this country has far fewer such attacks than the rest of the world.
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“Over the 20 years from 1998 to 2017, the United States had 1.1 percent of the world's share of mass public shooters and 1.8 percent of the mass public shooting murders,” he said. “Both are significantly less than the US’s 4.6 percent share of the world population. People don't take into account that the United States has over 330 million people. You can't compare it to a country with 5 million or even Germany with 80 million without adjusting for the different sizes and populations.”
Dr. Lott quotes Mass Shooter who was Looking for a 'Gun Free Zone' for his Attack
Lott referenced a highly publicized mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, and the manifesto published by the alleged perpetrator who specifically selected a gun-free zone for his attack.
“If you read his manifesto, he spends a great deal of time like many of these killers do, explaining why he picked the target that he did,” he said. “I'll read it. His manifesto says, quote, ‘attacking in a weapon restricted area may decrease the chance of civilian backlash. Schools and courts are other areas where concealed carry is outlawed or prohibited and may be good areas of attack. Areas with strict gun control laws are also great places for an attack.”
Dr. Lott Quotes from the Killers' Manifestos
Dr. Lott referenced his website for more such reports.
“I can give you quotes from one manifesto after another, from one diary after another, and they're all on our website at crime research.org where these killers time after time tell you,” he said. “However, the media ignores the fact and never reports this part of what's in their manifestos.”
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