Concealed Carry and Murder Rates

It's a simple theory: More guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are more likely to prevent criminal negligence. This isn't just the conjecture of right-wing extremists as the Left would have you believe; rather, it has strong statistical support in study after study. You can now add another analysis to that mix – according to economist Mark Gius, more guns still equal less crime. Gius explains, “Using data for the period 1980 to 2009 [which he adds "is one of the longest time periods examined in any research on assault weapons bans or CCW laws”] 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.“ There are causation and correlation questions that remain, but one thing seems clear: Guns don't cause crime.

http://patriotpost.us/posts/24690