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

Abstract

Gun violence is a major problem in the United States, and extensive prior work has shown that higher temperatures increase violent behavior. 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. We provide evidence that more prohibitive concealed-carry laws attenuate the temperature–homicide relationship. Our findings are consistent with more-prohibitive policy regimes reducing the lethality of altercations.

JEL Classification: K42, Q51, I18