The mathematics of murder

Abstract

Gun-control advocates believe that widespread gun ownership increases the rate of gun-related crime and homicide, whereas critics argue that gun availability actually decreases gun violence because potential assailants are less likely to commit such crimes if they believe citizens are armed. [...]work on the issue is typically conducted by scholars who collect data on types of gun-control policy and numbers of gun homicides, and look for correlations while controlling for certain important variables - such as whether the locations of the homicides are rural or urban, or whether it is easy to obtain arms illegally.