Ah, yes, the study “Association between Firearm Laws and Homicide in Urban Counties” was published in the Journal of Urban Health last June.

The study was supported by the very anti-gun Joyce Foundation and the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine’s. This assures there was no bias in the construction or methodology employed.

Right. It’s garbage. An examination of homicide data and rates for 596 U.S. cities shows there is no correlation between homicide rates and gun laws, including permit-to-purchase requirements and comprehensive background checks. For example, Baltimore, Maryland, which has universal background checks and a permit requirement for handgun purchases, has the fourth-highest homicide rate in the nation. Detroit, Michigan, also in a state which requires a permit to purchase has the eighth-highest rate and Flint, Michigan comes in at № 10.

In fact, in a study conducted by Dr. Garen Wintemute, a gun control advocate, three of the four states that enacted universal background check laws in recent year experienced an significant increase in homicides. Colorado, Delaware and Washington all saw rates rise by double-digits while Oregon saw a dramatic decline. Wilmington, Delaware now has the sixth-highest homicide rate in the U.S.

Since the majority of those states experienced increases in murders, should we then assume that universal background check laws actually cause more murders? Or should we simply assume they are worthless? The number of mass shooters who have passed them would seem to validate the latter conclusion.

Don’t let the Bloomborgs spoil what otherwise was a fairly well-presented call for action. There was some good, independent thought here, don’t pollute it with bad ideas and highly suspect studies.