DOES PADDLING REDUCE VIOLENT CRIME?
No. There is no significant difference between the crime stats of high paddling states and the national average. Violent crime is higher in 7 of the top 10 paddling states, but overall crime is higher in only 4 of the top 10 paddling states. Thus, high paddling rates do not seem to have much influence on crime. DOES PADDLING REDUCE TEEN PREGNANCY? No. In fact, out of the top-ten paddling states, the pregnancy rates are higher in 5 states, identical to the national average in one state, and below the national average in only 4 states. Interestingly the four lowest teen pregnancy rates within the top-ten paddling states also happen to be the states with the lowest paddling rates within the top-ten, i.e., LA, OK, SC, and KY. School paddling does not have any positive effect on teen pregnancy rates. (Pregnancy stats from “Teen Pregnancy, state by state”, USA Today, July 14, 1997, 3A) DOES PADDLING REDUCE ILLICIT SEX? The National average for Gonorrhea is 149.5 per 100,000 population. The a
