Armed and Polite

Concealed carry

All states now allow some citizens to carry concealed firearms in public, but many impose significant restrictions on obtaining permits. The states with tougher carry laws have higher murder rates, according to a new study.

In a November 2013 study published in Applied Economics Letters, the Quinnipiac University economist Mark Gius sought to determine the effects of state-level assault weapons bans and concealed carry laws on gun-related murder rates between 1980 and 2009. He found that murder rates were 10 percent higher in states with more restrictive concealed carry laws. In addition, assault weapon bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level.

Gius concluded that his results suggest that "limiting the ability to carry concealed weapons may cause murder rates to increase."