Fox News recently interviewed Dr. John Lott about an exchange between Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) and Yale School of Public Health Dean Megan Ranney. It appeared that Ranney’s comments were misleading, where she compared data in a way that suggested Republican-controlled areas are the most plagued by crime. This exchange between Kennedy and Ranney generated backlash on social media, with many conservatives pointing out the flaws in Ranney’s comparison of “gun homicide” rates.
This article also mentioned that Democrats have previously claimed that red states have higher murder rates and more crime than blue states. However, there were critics of these claims who pointed out that red states driven by Democratic-run cities were driving up crime statistics.
Dr. Lott, who was interviewed by Fox News, highlighted his concern that Ranney’s choice of comparing states exhibited political bias. He also criticized public health experts for focusing only on firearm deaths and ignoring other factors that contribute to the statistics. Additionally, Lott argued that public health officials often use firearm-related suicides as an argument for gun bans, even though overall suicide numbers remain the same as individuals find alternative methods to commit suicide.
Overall, Dr. Lott raised concerns about the selective research and political bias exhibited by some public health officials when presenting data.