NRAWinningTeam.com
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NRA-ILA FAX ALERT |
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Fax: (703) 267-3918 |
groots@nra.org |
| Vol. 8, No. 15 |
11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030 |
4/13/2001 |
Columbia University Set to Honor
Controversial Researcher
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"...No
one who has seen the evidence can figure out how [Bellesides] could have made such
errors, or why he has not retracted the obviously mistaken data..." |
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-- Northwestern Law Professor James Lindgren |
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Kimberly Strassel |
Next week, Columbia University will bestow its Bancroft Prize - an award it
touts as "one of the most prestigious awards in the field of history" - upon
Michael Bellesiles of Emory University, author of last year's "Arming
America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture." Bellesiles's book,
according to the author, is a culmination of research that indicates that
most Americans around the time of our country's formation did not own
firearms. This, of course, is contrary to reams of scholarly research
showing that America has always been a nation where the possession of
firearms by responsible, law-abiding citizens has been widespread.
Prof. Rosenberg |
While this book was received with high praise from gun-ban extremists and
the anti-gun media (the New York Times actually gave the book praise
before it was ever released), an editorial by Kimberley
Strassel from the
April 5 issue of The Wall Street Journal points out that Bellesiles's
research has been under fire by many respected scholars. Thus far,
however, Bellesiles has refused to produce anything of substance that
would counter the claims of his critics. Gerald
Rosenberg, a visiting
professor of law at Northwestern, told Strassel, "...[T]he evidence is so
overwhelming that it is incumbent upon Bellesiles as a serious scholar to
respond. He either has to admit error, or somehow show how his work is
right."
Prof. Malcolm |
UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh has pointed to examples of Bellesiles
either misquoting sources, or citing sources that do not contain the
information the Emory professor claims they contain. Bentley College
history professor Joyce Lee Malcolm, author of
"To Keep and Bear Arms:
The Origins of an Anglo-American Right," referred to Bellesiles's use of
travel narratives, which he claims failed to mention the use of guns for
hunting. But Malcolm states that "Arming America" makes no mention of the
same narratives referring to guns outside of the context of hunting.
Prof. Volokh |
And
Northwestern professor of law James Lindgren
tackles what many reviewers
have considered to be the most compelling aspect of Bellesiles
research - his use of probate records, which are basically inventories of
someone's estate at his time of death. Bellesiles claimes his research
shows that only 14.7% of American men, and virtually no women, owned
firearms, and he goes on to claim that most guns were old or broken. But
Lindgren says he went over the same records that Bellesiles cited, and
found that 54% of American men, and 18% of the women, owned firearms, with
no indication that most were listed as old or broken. Lindgren stated, "No
one who has seen the evidence can figure out how he could have made such
errors, or why he has not retracted the obviously mistaken data."
Prof. Lindgren |
According to Strassel, Bellesiles told her that many of his critics are
"ideologically motivated," but she points out that Rosenberg and Lindgren
all told her that they favor gun control. Bellesiles has also revealed
that he did not keep a database (rather odd in the age of computers), but
kept all his data on paper notes, and he claims these paper notes were
recently destroyed in a flood. Randolph Roth, an associate history
professor at Ohio State who also supports gun control, examined Lindgren's
work on probate records and commented that "it looks as though Mr.
Bellesiles work won't be reproducible."
Clayton Cramer |
In an effort to present a different view to Bellesiles's, Ron Lewenberg,
President of the Columbia College Conservative Club, has been working with
university officials to try to schedule a panel of researchers and
scholars to discuss "Arming America" next Wednesday, April 18, the day
Bellesiles is scheduled to receive his recognition from the university. At
this time, it is unclear if the school will accommodate this request, but
if it does, tentatively scheduled to appear are Yale professor John Lott,
author of "More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control
Laws," and Clayton Cramer, author of several historical books, including
"For the Defense of Themselves: The Original Intent and Judicial
Interpretation of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms." Bellesiles declined an
invitation to appear as well. We should have more information on this
tentative panel discussion next week, so if you are interested in finding
out more, please call the Grassroots Division at (800) 392-8683.
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