University of Chicago economist John Lott studied crime statistics in states that have "relaxed" laws about carrying guns. He found that the crime rates in "right to carry" states went down, sometimes way down, after passing legislation allowing responsible adults to carry guns. Murders fell an average of 8 percent, rapes 5 percent and aggravated assaults 7 percent, while at the same time in the U.S. as a whole murders went up 24 percent, rapes went up 71 percent, and assaults went up more than 100 percent. And in those states, the death rate in mass public shootings -- such as a crazed gunman opening fire in a crowded restaurant -- dropped 69 percent, while deaths from accidental shootings increased by only about one per year. Hardly a gun freak, Lott has never been a member of the National Rifle Association and didn't even own a gun when he started his study. But once he saw how clearly the statistics were turning out, he bought one. (Time) ..."An armed society is a polite society." --Robert A. Heinlein.