Do more guns cause less crime?

Tim Lambert

The main argument of a recent book by John Lott is summarized in the title: More Guns, Less Crime [26]. There are three parts to this argument:

1. that there were more guns
2. that there was less crime
3. that more guns caused less crime

Lott's argument depends on all three parts being true. If any one of the parts is incorrect, the entire argument fails. In fact, as I will show in the next three sections of this document, all three parts are wrong:

1. there weren't significantly more guns
2. it is unclear whether there was less crime
3. even if there was more guns and less crime, more guns did not cause less crime

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