Studies show licensing firearms saves lives — but SCOTUS may ban states from doing it

New research shows that states requiring licenses to purchase firearms have experienced “significant” reductions in the incidence of gun homicides and suicides, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is reporting.

It cited recent studies of two states: Connecticut, which had passed a firearms-purchaser licensing law in 1995; and Missouri, which had repealed a licensing law in 2005. The results were striking though predictable:

“Connecticut’s purchaser licensing law was associated with significant reductions in rates of firearm homicide and firearm suicide and the repeal of Missouri’s purchaser licensing law was associated with significant increases in these outcomes.” Johns Hopkins reported.

“The most recent study estimates Connecticut’s law reduced firearm homicide rates by 28 percent and firearm suicide rates by 33 percent over a 22-year period; the repeal of Missouri’s law increased firearm homicides by 47 percent and firearm suicide rates by 23 percent.3

“Another study found evidence that these changes in handgun purchaser licensing laws were linked to decreases in fatal shootings of police officers in Connecticut and increases in shootings of police in Missouri.”

These studies bore out previous research that such laws were associated with “with 56 percent lower rates of fatal mass shooting incidents, and 67 percent fewer mass shooting victims,” the Johns Hopkins website reported.

It explained how firearms-licensing laws enhance background checks to make them more effective. “The additional components required with firearm purchaser licensing laws – fingerprinting, a more thorough, and a built-in waiting period --all play a vital role in preventing people with a history of violence, those at risk for future interpersonal violence or suicide, and gun traffickers from obtaining firearms.”

According to the Giffords Law Center, some 13 states and the District of Columbia have some form of state licensing requirements for gun purchasing or possession. There is no federal requirement, it noted.

One of those states is New York, which has licensed the ownership of handguns for nearly a century. On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed major new gun-control legislation that would, among other steps, add new licensing requirements for the purchase or possession of semi-automatic firearms and body armor.

However, at the very time the governor and state legislature are moving to strengthen gun laws, New York is facing a strong challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court that is widely viewed as posing its right to license handguns at all.

Here’s how the New York Times reported it this week:

“Across the city and state, authorities are bracing for a ruling, expected from the United States Supreme Court this month, which could strike down a century-old New York State law that places strict limits on the carrying of handguns.

“When the Supreme Court heard arguments over the law in November, a number of justices appeared predisposed against it, leading experts to believe that the law is likely to be struck down. If that happens, the ramifications could reach beyond New York: A handful of other states, including California, Connecticut, Maryland and Massachusetts, have similar laws that could also be invalidated.

“New York State requires anyone who wants to purchase a handgun to apply for a state license. But there is an additional level of scrutiny for people who want a license that allows them to carry their gun outside their home. The two petitioners before the Supreme Court, both upstate New Yorkers, are challenging the laws governing the carrying of handguns, though gun control advocates in the state worry that the rules for acquiring handguns will be next.”

As reported at Raw Story last month, New York Mayor Eric Adams has warned that residents of his city “should be very afraid” if the Supreme Court strikes down the state licensing law.