Submission Type
Poster
Start Date
April 2021
Abstract
Explaining the variance in states’ concealed carry laws (referring to the practice of carrying a handgun in public in a concealed fashion) is a topic that remains underexplored in academic literature. This study looks at nine variables—political, gun and crime-related, economic, and education-related—and uses a multinomial logistic regression analysis to detect differences between states with more or less restrictive concealed carry laws. Out of these variables, only two statistically significant relationships were found: states with the least restrictive concealed carry laws had fewer Republicans in the upper house of their state legislatures (this result was unexpected) and had higher gun ownership rates (as expected) compared to the base outcome. The results for two variables—average state partisan composition and President Trump’s 2016 vote share—were not quite statistically significant, but followed the hypothesized relationships. Overall, this study’s findings point out that other variables—namely those relating to states’ unique gun cultures—are likely behind states’ choices for concealed carry policies.
Recommended Citation
Kozlowski, Carver, "096— Concealed Carry Laws Throughout the United States" (2021). GREAT Day Posters. 61.
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/great-day-symposium/great-day-2021/posters-2021/61
Included in
096— Concealed Carry Laws Throughout the United States
Explaining the variance in states’ concealed carry laws (referring to the practice of carrying a handgun in public in a concealed fashion) is a topic that remains underexplored in academic literature. This study looks at nine variables—political, gun and crime-related, economic, and education-related—and uses a multinomial logistic regression analysis to detect differences between states with more or less restrictive concealed carry laws. Out of these variables, only two statistically significant relationships were found: states with the least restrictive concealed carry laws had fewer Republicans in the upper house of their state legislatures (this result was unexpected) and had higher gun ownership rates (as expected) compared to the base outcome. The results for two variables—average state partisan composition and President Trump’s 2016 vote share—were not quite statistically significant, but followed the hypothesized relationships. Overall, this study’s findings point out that other variables—namely those relating to states’ unique gun cultures—are likely behind states’ choices for concealed carry policies.
Comments
Sponsored by Eunju Kang