ON THE JOHN CARDILLO SHOW: HILLARY CLINTON TOO BIG TO JAIL

Dr. John Lott talked with host John Cardillo about his Fox News piece regarding the FBI not recommending prosecution of Hillary Clinton.

(July 6, 2016 9:00am-9:16am)

Audio is available here.

On Al Jazeera International to talk changing background checks, banning assault weapons, and gun-free zones

CPRC's Dr. John Lott was on Al Jazeera International on Friday, June 17th, 2016 to discuss changing background checks, banning assault weapons, and gun-free zones.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wants Citizens United overturned, What does that mean?

From the WSJ:

Her other goal is overturning Citizens United v. FEC, which in 2010 restored First Amendment rights for businesses and unions. “It would be an impossible dream. But I’d love to see Citizens United overruled,” she said, thus signaling she’ll do everything she can to see that happen. She also boasted that she expected to be back in the five-vote majority soon. . . .

Overturning Citizens United would allow the government to ban movies, TV, and books 60 days before elections. During presidential election years the government could ban all these things for almost 10 months.

Recent interviews on Mark Levin, Lars Larson, and Laura Ingraham's radio shows

My recent interview with Mark Levin is available here.

My recent interview with Lars Larson is available here.

My recent interview with Laura Ingraham is available here.

On One America News' The Daily Ledger: Gun Ownership and Terrorism

Crime Prevention Research Center's John Lott was on the One America News Network to discuss gun ownership and terrorism (Wednesday, June 29, 2016)

Newest piece in the New York Post: Obama’s false racism claims are putting cops’ lives in danger

Dr. John Lott's latest piece in the New York Post raises concerns about how President Obama sees racism whenever there is a difference in outcomes.  One sentence that was cut from the piece due to space constraints noted: "President Obama’s claim makes as much sense as saying that since men make up 49% of the population but 93% of the people in prison, there must be discrimination against men."  Lott's piece starts this way:

Hours before the murders of five police officers in Dallas, Texas, President Obama was again spouting false claims about racism by the police. He sees racism whenever there is any disparity in outcomes, no matter what the cause.
Obama and others inflame passions, but take no responsibility, and instead use events to push for more gun control. Yet, shouting racism can endanger the lives of police officers. The Dallas police chief tells us one of the shooters “wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.”
After the Trayvon Martin case, there were numerous cases around the country of blacks attacking whites and invoking Martin’s name.
Let’s not forget that NYPD cops Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were executed by a black man who was angry about the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
Obama and his administration spoke out repeatedly on the Martin and Brown cases. They repeatedly claimed racism was involved, but in fact there’s no evidence of that in either case.
Obama is also wrong, as he was on Thursday, to infer racism from higher arrest rates or prison-sentence lengths. “African Americans are arrested at twice the rate of whites,” he said. What he failed to note is that blacks commit murder at almost six times the rate whites do.
“African-American and Hispanic population, who make up only 30 percent of the general population, make up more than half of the incarcerated population,” he added. But Obama ignores the facts put out by his own Department of Justice. The FBI claims that gangs commit 80 percent of crimes in the US, and the National Gang Center estimates that 82 percent of gang members are black or Hispanic.
Obama claimed: “[Blacks] receive sentences that are almost 10 percent longer than comparable whites arrested for the same crime.” Putting aside questions as to how comparable the crimes are or the criminals’ past histories, Obama again leaves out crucial details. Whites are more likely to face other penalties — fines and restitution, loss of professional licenses, and a greater drop in legitimate earnings upon returning to the labor force after prison.
Will Obama be complaining about the “racist” aspects of these other penalties?
Of course, Obama isn’t alone in pushing these misleading claims. . . .

The rest of the piece is available here.

The piece was also linked at Fox Nation, Hot Air, Real Clear Politics, Law Officer, and The Law of Self Defense.

Sources for piece:

Obama's statements before and after the Dallas shooting.  Murder rate data by race for 2014 is available here and the national demographics used to determine murder rates by race.  Information from the National Youth Gang Survey Analysis and crimes committed by gangs.

See also "Police group director: Obama caused a 'war on cops'"

“I think [the Obama administration] continued appeasements at the federal level with the Department of Justice, their appeasement of violent criminals, their refusal to condemn movements like Black Lives Matter, actively calling for the death of police officers, that type of thing, all the while blaming police for the problems in this country has led directly to the climate that has made Dallas possible,” William Johnson, the executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, said in an interview with Fox on Friday morning.
Johnson said although the Thursday night shooting of law enforcement officers reminded him of “the violence in the streets in the 60’s and 70’s,” he pointed out how Obama’s response appeared different than his predecessors.
“I think one of the big differences then was you had governors and mayors and the president — whether it was President Johnson or President Nixon, Republican or Democrat — condemning violence against the police and urging support for the police,” Johnson said. “Today that's markedly absent. I think that's a huge difference, and that's directly led to the climate that allows these attacks to happen.”
"It's a war on cops," Johnson also said. "And the Obama administration is the Neville Chamberlain of this war." . . .

Some Fact Slowly Appearing on Minnesota Police Shooting of Philando Castile

The shooting of Philander Castile by Officer Geronimo Yanez has gotten national attention, but the case might not have been quite as simple as many have thought.   Indeed, 21 officers were injured in rioting on Saturday night.  Yanez's lawyer had this to say:

“I’m not concerned about criminal proceedings here and I don’t think he is either,” attorney Thomas Kelly told PBS Saturday.Kelly said in a separate interview with The Associated Press that Officer Jeronimo Yanez was reacting to “the presence of that gun and the display of that gun” when he shot Castile multiple times.  . . .
Kelly said that Castile did not obey the instructions of the police.
“I can tell you that the driver disregarded the clear commands of Officer Yanez,” Kelly said, adding that “race had nothing to do with the shooting.” . . .
"There was more than just the equipment violation,” he said, refusing to share any more details due to an ongoing investigation.

Obama's comments surely suggested that the officer was at fault.

I want to begin by expressing my condolences for the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. As I said in the statement that I posted on Facebook, we have seen tragedies like this too many times. 

The Justice Department, I know, has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge. The governor of Minnesota, I understand, is calling for an investigation there as well.
As is my practice, given my institutional role, I can’t comment on the specific facts of each case. And I have confidence (AUDIO GAP). 

But what I can say is that all of us as Americans should be troubled by the news. These are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system. . . . 

The Governor of Minnesota clearly argued that racism was the problem behind the shooting.

“Would this have happened if those passengers would have been white? I don’t think it would have,” Gov. Mark Dayton said to a crowd that gathered outside his residence all day and night Thursday. . . .

The president doesn't even mention that the officer doing the shooting in Minnesota, Geronimo Yanez, was Mexican. 

Not an Assault Weapon: Dallas Police murderer used an SKS semi-automatic rifle

We also know that when people are armed with powerful weapons, unfortunately it makes attacks like these more deadly and more tragic. And in the days ahead, we’re going to have to consider those realities as well.
-- President Obama July 8, 2016

Yet again, President Obama is pushing for gun control laws wouldn't have stopped the attack that is being used to motivate the new law.

Micah Xavier Johnson, the man who killed 5 police officers and wounded 7 others, used a SKS semi-automatic rifle.  The SKS is a gun that was designed 73 years ago.  It is essentially a deer hunting rifle in terms of its inside guns and the caliber of its bullets (.30 caliber).  This gun wasn't classified as an assault weapon under the Federal assault weapon ban.  The President's call to renew the ban wouldn't have affected the gun used in this shooting.  Given that this gun is functionally identical to all other .30 caliber semi-automatic rifles, one would have to ban all semi-automatic .30 caliber rifles.

Given all the discussion about magazine sizes, "SKS rifles generally have a 10 round fixed magazine that can be loaded via stripper clips. Larger capacity fixed magazines with questionable reliability are available as well. Some SKS aficionadas can load the gun with stripper clips with the same speed as loading a detachable magazine into an AR-15 or AK-47.  It does take practice, however."

These guns sell for about $400.