In states with the most guns, firearm homicide rates were 114 percent higher, the researchers reported in the February issue of Social Science and Medicine.
Not that there is anything proving or disproving my possible explanation of this study, but here it is. The statements above are an interesting use of the English language. There is not one statement in this article says a higher percentage of gun ownership, it always says more households with guns and states with more guns. While one might assume that percentage is implied, I don't trust academics with an agenda.
For example if you took North Dakota and New York, there is a higher number of guns in New York and a much higher murder rate, but as a percentage North Dakota probably has more guns. I would like to know which states fall into the respective "quartiles" of this study. It might be enlightening.
"In states with the most guns, firearm homicide rates were 114 percent higher, the researchers reported in the February issue of Social Science and Medicine."
They have just used a fancy way of stating a truism to advance a political agenda. No mention of total murder rates. Just the fact that if you have more guns, you have more murders with guns. *Not more murders. More murders with guns.* It is like stating that if you have more cars, you have more murders with cars.
Of course if you have no cars, you have no murders with cars.
But, that is all irrelevant. It doesn't matter to a person how they are murdered. What matters is if they are murdered at all.
And that is what this study pointedly ignores.
"After dividing the states into four groups based on how many households had guns, the researchers found the states in the highest quartile of firearm ownership had overall homicide rates 60 percent higher than states in the lowest quartile."
I flat out do not believe this. It contradicts all the other studies that I have seen on this issue. I would like to see their data. I notice that they are using "surveys". I wonder if they are from doctors asking if there are guns in the house.