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Access to Guns in the Heat of the Moment: More Restrictive Gun Laws Mitigate the Effect of Temperature on Violence

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  • Colmer, Jonathan

    (University of Virginia)

  • Doleac, Jennifer

    (Texas A&M University)

Abstract

Gun violence is a major problem in the United States, and extensive prior work has shown that higher temperatures increase violent behavior. In this paper, we consider whether restricting the concealed carry of firearms mitigates or exacerbates the effect of temperature on violence. We use two identification strategies that exploit daily variation in temperature and variation in gun control policies between and within states. Our findings suggest that more prohibitive concealed carry laws attenuate the temperature–homicide relationship. Additional results suggest that restrictions primarily decrease the lethality of temperature–driven violent crimes, rather than their overall occurrence, but may be less effective at reducing access to guns in more urban areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Colmer, Jonathan & Doleac, Jennifer, 2023. "Access to Guns in the Heat of the Moment: More Restrictive Gun Laws Mitigate the Effect of Temperature on Violence," IZA Discussion Papers 16247, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16247
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    Cited by:

    1. Nikolai Cook, Taylor Wright, 2024. "Don’t Lose Your Cool: Temperature and Gun-Violence in North America," LCERPA Working Papers jc0146, Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis, revised 2024.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    right-to-carry; temperature; crime; homicide;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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