Association Between Connecticut's Permit-to-Purchase Handgun Law and Homicides

We sought to estimate the effect of Connecticut's implementation of a handgun permit-to-purchase law in October 1995 on subsequent homicides. Using the synthetic control method, we compared Connecticut's homicide rates after the law's implementation to rates we would have expected had...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 2015-08, Vol.105 (8), p.e49-e54
Main Authors: Rudolph, Kara E, Stuart, Elizabeth A, Vernick, Jon S, Webster, Daniel W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Background checks
Connecticut - epidemiology
Domestic violence
Epidemiology
Firearm laws & regulations
Firearms
Firearms - legislation & jurisprudence
Health Law
Health Policy
Homicide - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Injury/Emergency Care/Violence
Law enforcement
Licenses
Murders & murder attempts
Online Research and Practice
Public health
Safety training
Trends
United States - epidemiology
Wounds, Gunshot - mortality
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Summary:We sought to estimate the effect of Connecticut's implementation of a handgun permit-to-purchase law in October 1995 on subsequent homicides. Using the synthetic control method, we compared Connecticut's homicide rates after the law's implementation to rates we would have expected had the law not been implemented. To estimate the counterfactual, we used longitudinal data from a weighted combination of comparison states identified based on the ability of their prelaw homicide trends and covariates to predict prelaw homicide trends in Connecticut. We estimated that the law was associated with a 40% reduction in Connecticut's firearm homicide rates during the first 10 years that the law was in place. By contrast, there was no evidence for a reduction in nonfirearm homicides. Consistent with prior research, this study demonstrated that Connecticut's handgun permit-to-purchase law was associated with a subsequent reduction in homicide rates. As would be expected if the law drove the reduction, the policy's effects were only evident for homicides committed with firearms.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302703