After Oregon Shooting, Debate Over Gun Control & Statistics
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NORTH TEXAS (CBS11) - More pain, more grief after the latest deadly mass-shooting happened on an Oregon college campus.
President Obama once again blasted efforts to block new gun control laws.
He said, "How can you with a straight face make the argument that more guns will make us safer? We know the states with the most gun laws tend to have the fewest gun deaths."
But Bill Waybourn, who just retired as Dalworthington Garden's police chief after 31 years, says not so fast.
He has a message of his own for the President. "Mr. President, please do not take my liberties away for your security."
So who's right?
We found statistics by the CDC show the number of deaths due to injury by firearms in 2013.
Texas had 10.6 per 100,000 people, just over the national average of 10.4.
Oregon, where Thursday's murders took place had 11.
In South Carolina, where the previous mass-shooting happened, the number was15.2.
But it's not that simple.
In Connecticut, there was Newtown, despite strict gun control laws, and just 4.4 gun deaths per 100,000 people, among the lowest in the nation.
And while California and Illinois have tight gun restrictions and low gun deaths statewide, Oakland and Chicago are among the cities that struggle with the worst gun violence and deaths.
Waybourn says, "The gun laws are not working there and if good people are carrying guns and they're responsible with it, bad things won't happen to them."
He and Dr. Alex Del Carmen, Executive Director of Tarleton State University's Criminology Department in Fort Worth, believe there is no correlation between gun control laws and gun deaths.
They cite root causes of gun violence, including gangs and mental illness.
As the President calls for more gun control, the Texas legislature has eased gun restrictions.
Lawmakers passed open carry and campus carry, which allows guns to be concealed in certain areas on public college campuses.
The new law gets mixed reviews at UT Arlington.
Chris Clark, a junior says while he supports open carry, he opposes campus carry. "There should be no guns on campus, there should be no guns in any public places."
Ben Barnett, a freshman says, "I think if you have able- bodied, able-minded people who have guns, it leads to a safer environment as a whole."
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