New Study Demolishes Almost Every Gun Control Myth

A study published in the latest issue of the academic

journal Applied Economics Letters took on many of the claims made regularly by advocates of stricter gun laws. The study determined that nearly every claim made in support of stronger restrictions on gun ownership is not supported by an exhaustive analysis of crime statistics.

The study, “An examination of the effects of concealed weapons laws and assault weapons bans on state-level murder rates,” conducted by Quinnipiac University economist Mark Gius, examined nearly 30 years of statistics and concluded that stricter gun laws do not result in a reduction in gun violence. In fact, Gius found the opposite – that a proliferation of concealed carry permits can actually reduce incidents of gun crime.

“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,” the study’s abstract reads. “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 abstract concludes.

Gius notes that his findings are consistent with those of John R. Lott and David B. Mustard, two researchers who authored a controversial 1997 study which found that right-to-carry concealed gun provisions both “deters violent crimes and it appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths.”

h/t http://www.mediaite.com/online/new-study-demolishes-almost-every-gun-control-myth/