an exploratory analysis of Guns and Violent Crime in a Cross-national Sample of Cities

This study examines the relationship between gun availability and crime in a cross-national sample of cities. Data from the International Crime Victimization Survey are used to examine three competing hypotheses. The results of the limited information maximum least squares regression analyses suggest that gun availability influences rates of assault, gun assault, robbery, and gun robbery. These findings suggest that increasing city levels of gun availability in this cross-national sample of cities increases the likelihood that violent crimes are committed and that guns are involved in these crimes. Importantly, these findings do not suggest that increasing gun availability reduces crime.