The NRA-ILA issued a statement today referencing an article in the Charlotte Observer talking about the success of the recent NRA convention in Charlotte.
I agree, that the convention appeared to be a huge success, and all the reports I saw on it were very positive. I wish I was there, not only for the incredible gun show, but also the great presentations.
Anyways…my gripe:
With that many visitors in town, you might be thinking that there must have been some serious problems — maybe some opportunistic criminals preying on preoccupied tourists making their way around an unfamiliar city. Well, crime was actually lower during NRA’s convention — much lower.
According to the CharlotteObserver.com article, Captain Jeff Estes, commander of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Central Division, said crime for the week was 45 percent lower than the same week a year ago.
For those who know that NRA members are among the most law-abiding of citizens, and that more guns often equates to less crime, then that figure should come as no surprise at all.
That is directly from the NRA press release.
I am all for the “More guns less crime” movement, but why try to correlate a drop in crime to the fact that the convention was there for 3 days? I really don’t think that had anything to do with it, considering the Charlotte Observer article goes on to say that crime in central Charlotte is down this year as a whole from 2009. I highly doubt the criminals in and around Charlotte were sitting at home saying “Man, I should really be out there robbing and stealing.. but there are so damn many gun owners in town. Too Risky for me!”
Maybe I’m just feeling in a nit picking mood, but this type of cause-effect reporting seems very Brady-esque. I expected more from the NRA.
*Puts on and zips up protective flame suit* :P
