Gun control organizations report that the number of shootings associated with so-called “road rage” events has increased sharply over the past decade, coinciding with more states allowing the unlicensed concealed carry of firearms.
However, Second Amendment advocates claim that those who call for stricter gun regulation are using questionable data and scare tactics to advance their political agenda.
According to Everytown, the data, combined with other studies, show that in 2022, more than 413 people were injured or killed with a gun. This amounts to at least one person being shot every 16 hours, the website states.
While not drawing a firm conclusion, the website states that other studies also show that people are more likely to engage in violence when they have access to a gun and are frustrated.
“This analysis suggests that gun safety policies—particularly those that require a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public—protect our communities from road rage shootings,” the website states.
Everytown for Gun Safety did not respond to a request for comment.
The Trace, a website that tracks crimes involving guns, repeated and expanded on Everytown’s claims on April 26. The website stated that the data indicates a “more than 400 percent increase” in road rage shootings between 2013 and 2023.
However, one researcher and expert on guns and crime calls the GVA data unreliable to the point of being useless.
John R. Lott Jr. is an economist and president of the Crime Prevention Research Center. He is also the author of “More Guns, Less Crime,” which is considered by many to be an authoritative work on firearms and crime.
Mr. Lott told The Epoch Times that GVA’s data is suspect at best and biased at worst. He said the source of most of GVA’s data is hostile to the Second Amendment.
“The Gun Violence Archive relies on media reports. So what you may be picking up is what the media thinks is useful to report,” Mr. Lott said.
A GVA representative who asked not to be identified confirmed in an email to The Epoch Times that the data comes primarily from news reports. The email writer stated that the data was labeled road rage shooting data because the news media or local police used that term.
An ardent critic of news media, Mr. Lott, said the vast majority of news stories on firearms don’t provide enough information to determine precisely what happened in a specific incident. For example, he said simply labeling something a road rage incident while leaving out key details makes it impossible to know whether the shooting was justified.
“If somebody uses a gun defensively, you’re not going to get all the information,” Mr. Lott said.
A review of samples from the more than 2,800 entries provided to The Epoch Times illustrates this point.
The entries include the date, address, and brief description of each incident. The entries do not indicate who fired a gun or why, and the data do not provide information on arrests made or charges filed. However, there is information suggesting that at least some of the incidents were connected to other crimes.
Approximately 15 entries include the term “domestic violence,” nine list “robbery,” and 26 include “assault” as a factor. Many entries include no details at all other than a mention of “road rage” and that a shot was fired.
A search of the data shows that approximately 849 people were killed, some by police. At least 56 concealed carry license holders were listed as either the shooter or the victim, and in 131 cases, a felon or other person prohibited from owning a firearm was involved.
Many entries indicate that the terms “shooter” and “victim” may overlap. They also suggest that other crimes may be involved.
Tracing the news stories referenced by those entries is often of little assistance in determining whether a shooting was justified.
The search for an entry dated Dec. 29, 2023, turns up a short item on the news site Syracuse.com. That story states that a man was shot as part of a parking spot dispute. It doesn’t include the term “road rage.”
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith is a retired police officer and the spokesperson for the National Police Association.
She said there is no legal definition for road rage, so there technically is no crime. This leaves the decision to label an event as “road rage” up to the subjective judgment of a police officer or journalist.
“What these organizations tend to do is pick and choose their statistics and pick and choose situations in order to frighten the American public and try to use frankly propaganda to get people to turn away from the legal use of firearms,” Ms. Smith told The Epoch Times.
She scoffed at the idea that the mere presence of a gun promotes violence. She said that in her law enforcement career, she had found the presence of a firearm, more often than not, prevents crime.
Rather than limit access to firearms by those who would use them for self-protection, Ms. Smith said there is a better way to reduce shootings, regardless of why they happen.
“Let’s look at gang crime. Let’s look at crime in the inner city, let’s look at how criminals obtain firearms, and let’s stop going after the legal gun owner who’s not committing a crime,” she said.
