New study: Elimination of background check in Missouri leads to spike in murders
The verdict is in on the repeal of a law in 2007 that required gun buyers to first obtain a license that proved they’d passed a background check.
A new study from the John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research found that the decision has led to a spike in murders in a state already struggling with high homicide rates in its two biggest cities: Kansas City and St. Louis.
In fact, the study — to be released in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Urban Health — found that the number of murders grew by 55 to 63 a year.
This story was originally published February 18, 2014 at 6:54 PM with the headline "New study: Elimination of background check in Missouri leads to spike in murders ."