Everytown for Gun Safety researcher Ted Alcorn recently refused to debate Crime Prevention Research Center’s John Lott on CSPAN’s Washington Journal, but he assured viewers that his group is more than willing to debate any “credible scientist” who does not “minimize the issue of gun violence.”
In other words, Everytown will debate any “credible scientist” who agrees with them.
According to The Washington Times, the debate would have been over PEW Research Center findings that show more Americans support gun rights than support passing gun control. The poll uncovers a shift in American attitudes after more than 20 years, by showing that Americans react to news of higher crime by wanting more guns, not more gun control.
Alcorn responded to Lott’s request for debate:
When there’s a credible scientist–somebody who wants to have a real constructive conversation about this, we’re going to be there. But folks who seek to minimize the issue of gun violence, the grave issue of gun violence in this country or to draw attention away from the real issues to themselves–that’s not a conversation that I think is productive to be a part of.
Lott went ahead and made his points on CSPAN. He pointed out that “every country in the world that’s banned guns has seen an increase in murder rates.” He also observed that the gun control lobby finds itself in a tight spot because “there are now more stories about defensive gun use, that people are catching up to research on the issue, and that predictions of gun control advocates have not come to pass.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.