The Real Gun Guys

Firearm Ownership vs. Murder Rate

That last post got me to thinking about what the gun ownership in the states listed meant in regards to the murder rate. So I did some research. What I found intrigued me. The internet really is a great tool, just like a good 1911 in .45 ACP.

Below is the rough data followed by some graphs. The Brady Score is from last year while the gun ownership, and murder rate per 100,000 figures are both from 2001.

Here are my sources:

BRFSS (via The Washington Post)
FBI UCR (prepared by The Disaster Center)

Here’s the raw data:

State          Brady Score  Gun Ownership  Homocide Rate
                            %              (per 100,000)

Kentucky        2           47.7            4.4
Oklahoma        2           42.9            5.3
Alaska          4           57.8            6.2
Louisiana       4           44.1           11.2
Missouri        4           41.7            6.6
North Dakota    4           50.7            1.1
Utah            4           43.9            2.9
Mississippi     5           55.3            9.9
Arizona         6           31.1            7.5
Arkansas        6           55.3            5.5
Idaho           6           55.3            2.3
New Mexico      6           34.8            5.4
South Dakota    6           56.6             .9
West Virginia   6           55.4            2.2
Kansas          7           42.1            3.4
Tennessee       7           43.9            7.4
Florida         8           24.5            5.3
Indiana         8           39.1            6.7
Montana         8           57.7            3.8
Georgia         9           40.3            7.1
Texas           9           35.9            6.2
Vermont         9           42.0            1.1
Nebraska       10           38.6            2.5
Minnesota      11           41.7            2.4
Nevada         11           33.8            8.6
New Hampshire  11           30.0            1.3
South Carolina 11           42.3            8.1
Wyoming        11           59.7            1.8
Maine          12           40.5            1.5
Wisconsin      12           44.4            3.6
Ohio           13           32.4            4.0
Alabama        15           51.7            8.5
Connecticut    15           16.7            3.1
Colorado       16           34.7            3.6
Iowa           16           42.8            1.7
Oregon         18           39.8            2.4
Virginia       18           35.1            5.1
Washington     18           33.1            3.0
North Carolina 20           41.3            6.2
Deleware       22           25.5            2.9
Michigan       22           38.4            6.7
Pennsylvania   26           34.7            5.3
Illinois       28           20.2           10.0
Hawaii         43            8.7            2.6
Rhode Island   47           12.8            3.7
New York       51           18.0            5.0
Maryland       53           21.3            8.3
Massachusetts  54           12.6            2.2
New Jersey     63           12.3            3.9
California     79           21.3            6.4
The District    *            3.8           40.3

Here’s a chart showing the relationship between gun ownership and the murder rate. The data was sorted by murder rate and the gun ownership rate was divided by 10 to make the graph easier to read. Note, while the murder rate climbs, the gun ownership rate is all over the place.

Here is the inverse of the first graph. Note how as the gun ownership numbers rise, the murder rate is all over the place.

What does this mean? Well, with the notable exception of Washington D.C. (where exceptionally low gun ownership is paired with an astronomical murder rate), gun ownership and the murder rate have virtually nothing to do with each other. This means that attempts by certain groups to draw parallels between gun ownership and high crime are based in nothing but pure imagination and wishful thinking.

It is not necessary to prove a reduction in crime (I focused on the murder rate alone) to argue the case for the pro-rights side, only that gun ownership had nothing to do with increasing it. From the numbers above, there is no doubt in my mind this is the case.

Interesting.

Share/Save