Poor people suffer at anti-gun bill elitism

Keel Hunt claims that the Republican legislature in Nashville only cares about "serving power, not people," but Mr. Hunt is really the elitist.

One of the gun bills that Mr. Hunt dislikes that died in the legislature this year would have eliminated the $140 it costs to get a permit and pay for fingerprinting.

These fees stop poor minorities who live in high-crime urban areas from getting permits.

They are the very people who are most likely to be victims of violent crime, the ones who would benefit the most from being able to protect themselves.

Hunt seems oblivious to cities like Memphis, where the murder rate is more than four times higher than the U.S. rate.

Police are extremely important, but what happens when police can't be there to protect people?

John R. Lott Jr. is the president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and the author of the recently released “At the Brink: Will Obama Push Us Over the Edge?”