Correlates of State-Level Concealed Carry Weapon Law Strength

• In Event: Getting a Gun: Investigating Gun Acquisition and Concealed Carry Permits

Abstract

Why do some U.S. states, but not others, enact less restrictive concealed carry weapon (CCW) laws? To answer this question, we test several plausible social, political, and economic factors thought to affect the likelihood of this outcome over several decades. Random-effects panel estimates reveal that accounts based on partisan politics, gendered politics, economic threat, and racial threat largely explain variation in CCW laws over time. Tests for political interactions also reveal that the impact of gubernatorial politics on CCW laws dramatically varies according to Republican strength in the legistaure. Total crime rates are found to be postively correlated with more permissive CCW laws as well. Overall, this study advances the CCW literature by assessing multiple CCW outomes simultaneously, by examining novel threat predictors, by incorporating all of the major theoretical predictors of variation in CCW laws (from previous studies) into our models, and by utilizing a larger sample size than previous studies.

Authors

• Chad A. Malone, Oklahoma State University

• Trent Steidley, University of Denver