Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Advisor
Jeannette Manger
Abstract
A tragic amount of gun fatalities occur in today's world. These fatalities can be from acts of aggression, negligence, or accidental, but nonetheless are taking lives at an alarming rate. There has been a call to action to make changes and begin combating these issues, with the most commonly proposed solution being firearm regulation. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of firearm legislation, specifically of concealed carry regulations, on controlling firearm fatalities while also attempting to identify underlying causes or predictors of firearm fatalities. In an attempt to simplify the many regulations implemented differently between states, this study looked at concealed carry legislation as dichotomous, separating states into permitless concealed carry or permit required concealed carry states. Firearm fatalities between each group were evaluated, showing a statistically significant increase in firearm fatalities in states with permitless carry. This study also evaluated risk-taking behaviors and geographic location as potential correlations with firearm fatalities and found that excessive drinking was negatively correlated with firearm fatality rates. When assessing the predictive values of different variables, median household income was found to be the most impactful predictor of firearm fatalities. This study was limited in both scope and data and thus better serves as a catalyst for more investigation than as an absolute certainty. The evaluations of this paper are not meant to be definitive, but rather show where more specific research should be done.
Repository Citation
Kwok, W., & Weaver, J. (2024). The Impact of Permit Concealed Carry and Social Factors on Firearm Fatalities. Wright State University. Dayton, Ohio.
