Study Finds Relationship between Gun Ownership and Firearm Homicide Rates in the United States

A study published in November 2013, found a “robust relationship between gun ownership and firearm homicide rates.” The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, encompassed all 50 states and covered some 30 years through 2010. The authors found that for every 1% increase in gun ownership, firearm homicide rates increased by .9%. They said that although they could not establish a causal relationship between gun ownership and firearm homicide rates, they found that states with higher levels of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides. The research showed New Hampshire has the lowest firearm-homicide rate (.9%) and Louisiana has the highest (approximately 11%).