Ban isn’t answer to crime

I rarely write letters to editors or legislators. The recent introduction of the so-called “assault weapons ban” in Olympia is an affront that prompts me to do both.

Gun ownership up, crime levels down; is there a correlation? Perhaps, perhaps not, but certainly arguable.

What is clear, though, the national “assault weapons ban,” in effect from 1994 to 2004, had no measurable effect on gun crime. Any reputable studies I’ve seen conclude that there was no statistical relationship between the ban and gun-crime levels.

Another story that hits the media with some frequency bemoans the fact that the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Is it possible that keeping more criminals locked up for longer periods of time has more effect on reducing crime than gun laws? Keep your eye on the crime rates as we increase the early release of criminals in the name of “budgetary woes.”

Let’s spend our tax dollars on efforts to steer young people away from crime and a criminal justice system that puts and keeps repeat offenders behind bars, instead of on another pointless gun law.

Jim Parman

Newman Lake