Well, I updated the data once, and it looks like I am doing it again:
(Click to big-ize (it got bigger, by the by).)
So, you are now looking at a compound graph… The line graphs all use the left vertical axis, and the bottom horizontal axis. The bar graph, however, uses its own axis, and the bottom horizontal axis – to make things easier, the data points for the bar graph are numbered above each bar.
As for what the bar graph represents, well, it is counting the number of “shall-issue” states – i.e. states that have to give concealed carry permits to any legally-allowable citizens who ask for them (as opposed to “may-issue” states, wherein some police entity can decide whether or not the citizen in question gets a permit). For the sake of simplicity, I went ahead and counted Alaska and Vermot as “shall-issue” states, though neither currently requires a permit to carry concealed or openly. Additionally, the two states that lead the pack when it came to concealed carry permits were Washington (which started mandating shall-issue permits in 1961) and Vermont (which, as far as I can tell, has never had a permitting process).
All state concealed carry permit issuance requirement data is courtesy of Radical Gun Nuttery and Clayton Cramer and David Kopel.
Coincidentally, you will note that the number of “shall issue” states correlates interestingly with the decrease in firearm-related fatalities… Again, there is certainly no argument for causation, but should provide useful ammunition against the anti-rights advocates who will attempt to argue that the Brady Bill had an impact on crime.
(Oh, and all of this was Roberta X’s idea. While it was a very good idea (Thanks, Roberta!), I think I am done taking requests – the graph is getting a bit crowded.)
Almost sorry I started you down this path…almost.
This is an awesome graphic Linoge. It shows in simple, easy to understand what we’ve been saying for years, what the data has been indicating.
Great work. Has MikeB commented on this?
Heh, so am I, actually – people just keep asking for more data tracks to be added to it
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It has gotten a little more complex than I was hoping, but I am going to see what I can do to alleviate that… However, it should be quite useful as a blunt-force instrument against those people who cannot comprehend words or figures – if they cannot figure out a picture, they are well and truly lost.
And yeah, MikeB has commented on it, in his usual fashion, back at the original post. Nothing of any actual content or value, though…
spreading the good word
It seems as though I have a few people to thank for linking to my graph disproving the common myth that “more guns = more deaths” (and its subsequent updates). Suffice to say, that myth is unequivocably false. However, in…