DALLAS (May 11, 2000) – As the gun control lobby rallies hundreds of women to Washington this weekend, National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) senior policy analyst and gun policy expert H. Sterling Burnett is available to offer needed balance to the story.
"Legions of women marching on Washington makes for great TV," said Burnett. "But the question must be asked; if safe families and communities are their goal, will new gun laws have the desired effect? Or will they backfire making individuals, women especially, less safe."
WHO: H. Sterling Burnett, Senior Policy Analyst, NCPA Gun Policy Expert
WHAT: Comments On Issues Surrounding The Million Mom March
WHEN: Available Upon Request
Burnett is the author of a study entitled "Suing Gun Manufacturers: Hazardous to Our Health," which notes that citizens use guns in self-defense as many as 2.5 million times annually (in the vast majority of cases, merely showing the firearm prevents the crime). That far exceeds the number of crimes committed with firearms each year. For example, women faced with assault are 2.5 times less likely to suffer serious injury if they respond with a firearm rather than try to defend themselves with a less effective weapon or offer no resistance.