Professor Jacob Charles Interviewed on Changes in Firearms Legislation -- CBC Radio

Professor Jacob D. Charles is interviewed regarding changes in legislation related to firearms on the CBC Radio program "As it Happens."

Excerpt from "As It Happens: Gun Control Laws"

Jacob Charles specializes in firearms law at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. We reached him in Malibu, California.

HM: Jake, it may sound surprising to some that gun laws actually become less strict after mass shootings in Republican states. Can you explain the thinking behind that?

JACOB CHARLES: Sure. So I think a lot of the thinking behind loosening gun laws in reaction to instances of high-profile mass violence is that many of these state legislatures believe that more guns in the hands of citizens who they trust with firearms will make us safer. So instead of thinking that a proliferation of firearms is a danger to the public, they believe that having more guns out there is going to help. And the mantra of the NRA, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

HM: How much do we know about whether that is actually true?

JC: Most research tends to suggest that more firearms in public are not actually increasing safety and may actually be contributing to increased levels of violence. One kind of broad-level statistic is you can look at the United States and see that we're an outlier in terms of private firearm possession, which doesn't make us the safest country on Earth, but instead having one of the highest firearms fatality rates.

The complete interview may be found at CBC Radio (Professor Charles at 48:00)