The influence of firearm laws and ownership on citizen justifiable homicides

This study examines community-level influencers of citizen justifiable homicides in 170 large U.S. cities from 1980 to 2010 using panel estimation techniques. We perform the first random-effects city-level analysis of this homicide outcome and disaggregate by victim race to perform analysis on Total, Black victim, and White victim justifiable homicides. We find gun ownership measured by a proxy, firearm suicide rate, to be a positive and significant predictor for White victim justifiable homicides. State gun laws are also assessed, including Stand Your Ground, Conceal Carry Weapon, Permit to Purchase, and Universal Background Check laws. Conceal Carry Weapon and Stand Your Ground laws are significantly associated with Total, Black victim, and White victim justifiable homicides, while Permit to Purchase and Universal Background Check laws are significantly associated with White victim justifiable homicides.