Gunz Gunz Gunz
It seems the Gunz vs Statz debate will go on for ever, including a flurry of downvotes for any heathen who ever suggests giving people guns is the only way to save lives.
However, now we have introduced some figures - it is worth looking at the data the FBI has produced:
In 1986 there were 1,371 murders in Florida.
In 1988 there were 1,416 murders in Florida.
In 2007 there were 1,201 murders in Florida.
Interesting 1988 saw the second highest number of murders in Florida since 1960 (with 1981 being the highest).
In 1986 there were 6,152 counts of Forcible Rape, in 2007 there were 6,151 counts.
The problem with figures like this is that they peak and trough, so we have years like 1981 where the murders were through the roof or 1965 when they were almost non-existent (in comparison).
It is also interesting if we compare the overall crime rate in Florida with the national average:
In Florida (2010) there are 6.93 crimes per 100,000 residents while the US national median is 4.5.
By the way - for balance, in Illinois the crime figures were:
1986: 1023 murders, 4765 forcible rapes
1988: 991 murders, 4449 forcible rapes
2007: 752 murders, 4103 forcible rapes.
Maybe Florida's gun laws reduced crime globally....