A recent study by our very own Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health, in conjunction with Boston Children’s Hospital, provides evidence that stricter gun control laws work in reducing gun-related homicides and suicides. States with stronger gun laws experienced significantly lower levels of deaths involving firearms than their counterparts with loose gun laws. Of course, as with any statistical survey, there remain questions of cause and effect. The strong correlations, however, between firearm laws and homicide and suicide rates are definitely new talking points for gun control advocates. Further, opponents of gun control have often used the argument that the effectiveness of gun control laws has not been proven. This study, if followed by others, may take away this line of reasoning.
Check out The Atlantic’s coverage of this study: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2013/03/striking-relationship-between-gun-safety-laws-and-firearm-deaths/4902/