Bowed Up and Rowdy! Structural Correlates of County-Level Handgun Concealment in the Lone Star State

• In Event: Guns, Fear, and Risk

Abstract

Scholars who examine macro-level correlates of legal handgun concealment have found that the racial composition of areas is often a significant geographic predictor of the rates of people who legally conceal handguns. This correlation is linked to Blaylock's Fear and Loathing hypothesis that predicts citizens act in response to perceived fear of change as opposed to the actual threat of criminal victimization. The correlation is supported by the fact that only one study has ever demonstrated a geographic tie between crime rates and legal handgun concealment rates. As a result researchers have often suggested that high rates of legal concealment are the product of local cultural values. This preliminary study examines correlates of legal concealment rates across Texas' 282 counties and finds that the racial composition of areas is a significant predictor of rates of legal handgun concealers.

Authors

• S. E. Costanza, University of South Alabama

• John C. Kilburn, Texas A&M International University

• David A. Bowers, University of South Alabama

• Ronald E. Helms, Western Washington University