Wilson Veto of Gun Bills

Re “Wilson’s Bad Aim on Guns,” editorial, Sept. 30:

Your aim is low. You miss the fact that after California spent $4.5 billion on prison construction, crime is going down. Also, you say that restricting gun sales will stop criminals from having guns. Criminals do not buy guns through legal sources. Illegal guns are available to criminals the same way illegal drugs are available. They are imported by smugglers. Only law-abiding citizens would be affected by these draconian laws.

DANA SWAN

Newbury Park

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If Gov. Pete Wilson really thinks he’s “in step with the electorate,” I challenge him to stand alone in a room with the mothers and fathers of innocent children who have been cut down just in the last decade by assault weapons. Let him try to convince grieving parents that his endorsement of a three-strikes law should have been enough deterrence to stop that bullet.

Then, take our governor next door to a jail full of criminals serving time for murder while using assault weapons. Let’s see how many of those people fall under the definition of what Wilson points out as an “infinitely greater risk”--criminals with guns. Of course, it is a little late for murdered children and their families.

I know a few guys in Sacramento who certainly don’t want to violate the rights of some poor slob who wants more than 19 rounds of ammo in a single magazine, flash suppressor and a pistol grip on his assault weapon--hell, no!

RICK CONRAD

Los Angeles

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The Times’ editorial (“Gun Policy That Misfires,” Sept. 25) was misinformed and made several false claims when it criticized both Orange County Sheriff-elect Mike Carona’s promise to issue more concealed handgun permits and my book, “More Guns, Less Crime.”

The Times cites critics of my research and claims that allowing people to defend themselves is “bound to increase injuries and deaths--either through accidents or deliberate shootings that occur in a moment of passion,” but The Times fails to note that even my harshest critics have found no evidence that permitted concealed handguns increase crime, accidental deaths or suicides.

My book analyzed FBI crime statistics for all 3,054 American counties from 1977 to 1994, as well as extensive cross-county information on accidental gun deaths and suicides. I found that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns deters criminals and reduces violent crime, with murder rates falling by at least 10%. The percentage drops were largest in the most urban, most crime-prone counties, and women benefited much more than men.

I have made the data available to academics at 36 universities. Everyone who has tried has been able to replicate my findings, and only three have written pieces critical of my general approach.

JOHN R. LOTT JR.

Chicago