I was struck by David Luck's statement last night that the incidence of rape had been reduced by 90 percent in Orlando, Florida, when women were encouraged to buy guns and learn to use them. Although Luck indicated when this happened, I didn't catch it, and since I spent a year of my life living in Orlando, I was curious to know more.
It turns out that this happened more than forty-five years ago. In 1965, there were 12 rapes per 100,000 people in Orlando; in 1966, the number of rapes per 100,000 people increased to 36; and in 1967, after women received gun training, there were only 4 rapes per 100,000 population. Gun advocates point to this as evidence that guns are good, but discussion on ScienceBlogs questions the validity of seeing this as simple cause and effect: "Did Orlando gun training reduce rapes?"
And I thought I was the only one who checked the validity of the Orlando statement. Good work Carole.
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