Study: Concealed Carry Means Fewer Murders-- Plus, Assault Weapons Rifle Bans Have No Effect

"Only the responsible elite deserve access to guns! Bang! Bang! Take that Racist Tea-baggers!"

Shocker.

Criminals prey on those they see as weak. Guns can change that equation and they often back off.

Plus, the Wild West shootouts over parking spaces that opponents of concealed carry feared, never came to be. It's weird but law-abiding citizens tend to remain law-abiding citizens even when carrying guns. The gun didn't possess their souls and turn them into murderers. Again, shocker.

From Reason.com:

Quinnipiac University economist Mark Gius has published a new study, "An examination of the effects of concealed weapons laws and assault weapons bans on state-level murder rates," in the journalApplied Economics Letters. From the abstract:

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).

Funny how this study is consistent with prior studies, but still we have a debate over it. We're expected to disbelieve study after study and distrust our own lying eyes as we see violence escalte in gun restricted areas like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.