A new study from Quinnipiac University indicates that states that place restrictions on carrying concealed weapons had higher gun-related murder rates than other states and that study is getting national attention.
Mark Gius, a professor of economics in Quinnipiac’s School of Business and Engineering conducted the study, which found that assault weapons bans “did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level” and suggests that restrictive concealed weapons laws might cause an increase in gun-related murders.
The study is called “An Examination of the Effects of Concealed Weapons Laws and Assault Weapons Bans on State-Level Murder Rates,” which was published in the latest issue of the academic journal, “Applied Economics Letters.”
The abstract states:
"The purpose of the present study is to determine the effects of state-level assault weapons bans and concealed weapons laws on state-level murder rates. Using data for the period 1980 to 2009 and controlling for state and year fixed effects, the results of the present study suggest that states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murder rates than other states. It was also found that assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level. These results suggest that restrictive concealed weapons laws may cause an increase in gun-related murders at the state level. The results of this study are consistent with some prior research in this area, most notably Lott and Mustard (1997)."
The study has gotten attention from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Reason.com as well as additional sites.
