Sensitive places, persistent violence: Effectiveness of “Bar Ban” laws in reducing gun violence near alcohol vendors

Americans have differing opinions on whether greater regulation of firearms results in improved public safety. One area that seems to enjoy broad support is to limit firearm access in specific locations. “Bar Ban” laws — which prohibit firearms where alcohol is served — represent one such approach, yet their effectiveness remains largely unexamined nationally. This paper provides the first comprehensive evaluation of the impact of Bar Ban laws on shootings near alcohol-related establishments. Using a geospatial panel dataset of over 1.6 million alcohol vendors active across the United States between January 2019 and January 2025, we analyze the relationship between restrictions on carrying a gun where alcohol is served and gun violence. Results show that shootings occur close to alcohol-serving establishments: across 263,464 shooting incidents, the median distance to the nearest alcohol vendor was 222 meters. To assess the effectiveness of Bar Ban laws, we employ a stacked difference-in-differences design examining monthly shooting exposure rates of alcohol vendors across counties in five states (Hawaii, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, South Dakota) that adopted Bar Ban laws during our study period. Our findings reveal a policy puzzle: while spatial analyses confirm that shootings routinely occur near alcohol establishments, Bar Ban laws targeting these locations show no discernible effect on reducing shooting incidents. Thus, states adopting these restrictions saw no substantial change in county-level shooting exposure rates near alcohol vendors.