The latest school shooting has - once again - focused attention on gun policy and raised questions about the relationship between gun laws and gun crime. Each side is trotting studies justifying their positions, so why not walk through a few?
This is a good example of a key principle of federalism, at least those who argue that states ought to have broad latitude in setting public policy. We discussed the idea that states serve as laboratories of democracy by experimenting with different policy proposals in order to determine their impact. It's a pragmatic way to determine what does and doesn't work.
Here are some general links to the nature of laws in each state.
- Wikipedia: Gun Laws in the United States by State. Very thorough - but easy to get bogged down in this.
- NRA-ILA: State Gun Laws. Has a look at all the gun clauses in state constitutions - nice resource. And nicely laid out list of specific laws in each state.
- Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence: Search Gun Laws by State. An evaluation of laws by a pro-gun control group.
