State gun ownership rates can be predictive of firearm homicide rates, according to a study published recently in the American Journal of Public Health.
Researchers from Boston University examined firearm homicide data collected between 1981 and 2010, from all 50 states. They determined that for every 1 percent increase in gun ownership, firearm homicide rates increased 0.9 percent.
“We observed a robust correlation between higher levels of gun ownership and higher firearm homicide rates,” researchers wrote.
Louisiana had the highest firearm homicide rate, at 10.8 per 100,000 people. New Hampshire recorded the lowest, at 0.9 per 100,000 people.
Researchers noted that the study did not necessarily find a causal relationship between gun ownership and firearm homicide rate, only that “states with higher levels of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides.”
The full study is available for purchase HERE.