By Dave Workman|Senior Editor
John Lott
Introduced as a man with “intellectual ammunition,” Dr. John Lott, author, researcher and founder/president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, told activists attending the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix to be wary of gun-free zones, so-called “universal background checks,” and “red flag” laws now being pushed as panaceas to gun-related violent crime.
Lott, who has written several books and numerous articles on the subject, cautioned people about background checks by recalling what then-President Barack Obama did in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012. He pushed for stronger background checks.
“Universal background checks are something that gets pushed after every mass public shooting,” he said. The irony is that there’s not one mass public shooting in this century that would have been stopped by having that in effect.”
He professed a skepticism about “universal background checks” having any impact on crime rates, but he acknowledged that “people want to do something.”
“If I wanted to do something,” Lott stated, “it would be to get rid of gun-free zones.”
He discussed the financial angle of requiring background checks because the cost can be prohibitive for the people who actually might have the most need for a defensive firearm: the poor, minorities and people on limited incomes.
Lott suggested that if background checks really work to reduce crime, then society as a whole should pay for them, rather than have the burden placed entirely on the shoulders of the gun buyer.
“Don’t penalize the person,” he said. “If everybody benefits, then make everybody pay.”
Lott also asserted that there are a high percentage of “false positives” in the background check process, because so many people, especially in minority communities, have names and/or birthdates similar to people who are prohibited from having guns legally.
He recalled that in 2010, there were about 76,000 initial denials by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Of those, he said 48 cases were referred for prosecution and 28 cases were prosecuted, out of which there were 13 convictions.
The reason more cases weren’t prosecuted, Lott said, is because they “were not real cases.” That is, many if not most were likely false positives.
He is also cautious about “red flag” laws because of due process concerns and the apparent lack of involvement of mental health professionals in the process. Existing laws have certain protections that so-called “red flag” laws may not have. He thinks that is one reason why such laws might be popular with the gun control crowd.
He also suggested that one reason gun control people support background checks without providing some relief from the cost is to discourage more people from buying firearms.
Lott closed out his chat by asking that people support the Crime Prevention Research Center and subscribing to it.
