Daniel Webster and Jens Ludwig

About the author: Daniel Webster is an assistant professor of health policy and management at the School of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Jens Ludwig is an assistant professor of public policy at Georgetown University in the District of Columbia. In addition, Ludwig is an affiliated expert of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and a member of the National Consortium on Violence Research at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Despite the claims made by John R. Lott Jr. and other pro-gun activists, laws that permit the carrying of concealed handguns do not reduce violent crimes. Criminals might in fact be more likely to shoot potential victims in order to prevent an armed response. The studies that show the positive effects...