Analysis by the Ridgefield Press suggests that in Connecticut towns and cities, higher gun ownership rates correlate with lower crime rates, and vice versa.
For example, Ridgefield, which is Connecticut’s safest town in terms of crime, has one registered gun for each three people. On the other hand, Bridgeport, which is one of Connecticut’s more violent cities, has only one registered gun for each five people. Whereas Ridgefield’s registered gun owners own an average of about six registered firearms each, Bridgeport’s registered gun owners own only about 2.5 registered firearms each.
Although it’s risky to draw conclusions from small samples over short periods, larger samples over longer time frames tell a compelling story. Of the 41 states that had Right-to-Carry laws in 2012, 34 of them experienced declines in violent crime from 1991 to 2012, and 37 of them experienced declines in murder.
