Firearm ownership, Stand Your Ground laws, and the killing of police officers

This article examines structural factors, including firearm ownership rates and state gun laws, and their association with the killing of police officers (police homicides) in 170 large US cities from 1980 to 2010. The panel research design allows for both random-effects and fixed-effects estimation. In addition, the first difference-in-difference analysis of this homicide outcome is performed, which isolates treatment effects to illustrate how changes in state gun laws influence the killing of police officers within cities. Three state gun laws are assessed, including Permit to Purchase, Conceal Carry Weapon, and Stand Your Ground law adoption. Stand Your Ground laws appear to be a robust positive predictor of police homicides. The analysis also reveals a positive association for firearm ownership rates, measured by a proxy firearm suicide rates, and the killing of police officers.