shirgall Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 The concept of “herd immunity” applies to gun ownership and crime rates just as it does to vaccinations and infectious disease. Crime rates in Chicago dropped dramatically in 2014 after the state of Illinois allowed legal concealed carry. http://pjmedia.com/blog/herd-immunity-applies-to-guns-as-well-as-vaccinations/ Wait! How is that a public good, you ask? Because when multiple parties benefit from something, that's a public good. Refresher on public goods available! Don't fall into the trap that public goods only can be provided by public entities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. D. Stembal Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Why should IL residents have to pay $30 a year for the privilege of carrying a firearm (if you even qualify for a license)? Shouldn't the state be paying residents to carry arms when it lowers crime? It is expensive to own and train enough to be effective with a handgun. The "herd immunity" analogy does not work. I think the author is using it tongue in cheek. You can't compare criminal activity to viral behavior. This comparison makes the assumption that vaccinations deliver on their stated goal of lowering the frequency and severity of outbreaks. We know that gun ownership decreases criminal activity markedly. Do we derive an analogous benefit from vaccines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirgall Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Why should IL residents have to pay $30 a year for the privilege of carrying a firearm (if you even qualify for a license)? Shouldn't the state be paying residents to carry arms when it lowers crime? It is expensive to own and train enough to be effective with a handgun. The "herd immunity" analogy does not work. I think the author is using it tongue in cheek. You can't compare criminal activity to viral behavior. This comparison makes the assumption that vaccinations deliver on their stated goal of lowering the frequency and severity of outbreaks. We know that gun ownership decreases criminal activity markedly. Do we derive an analogous benefit from vaccines? The comparison I'd attempt is that both gun ownership and vaccines make the entities that resist attacks more effective at killing, driving off, or deterring those attacks... but you might need fog lights to see the connection. Yeah, the article was tongue in cheek, but my public good comment was intended to crystallize the benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts