The Political Opportunity From The AZ Shooting - Liberalized Gun Ownership Rights Permit Rampant Gun Violence

More predictable than Halley's Comet is the presence of the political agenda for Gun Control in the wake of the shootings in Arizona by a crazed killer.  As one faction of Progressive-Fundamentalists seek to obtain possession of the Glock that was used to see if Sarah Palin or other right-wing enemy has their finger prints upon the weapon - another faction with more wisdom apply the Emanuel-esque - "Never let a crisis go to waste" mantra as they seek to accomplish that which was not likely the day prior to the shooting.

The retreaded proposition:  The free availability of guns triggers gun violence and mass shootings.

Several shows have detailed how permissive the state of Arizona is regarding retail acquisition of fire arms.  Governor Jan Brewer - a darling of the left - signed a law that rescinded the need for a "concealed weapons permit".  As a concealed carry holder myself an interesting side note to this entire story is how, given the occasion, those who seek to avoid allowing the government to store an increasing amount of information into a database show that their opposition is merely against factoids that they disagree should be stored - not an absolute abhorrence to the notion of government data warehousing.  In exchange for my card - the finger prints from all of my digits are now in a database that can be accessed by multiple law enforcement agencies.  Along with my $60 renewal fee deposited into their bank account.  I am not opposed to certain procedural hoops that would tend to screen out those who have no business with a firearm in their hands.  I am only opposed to those who assume that "magic" will be produced as an otherwise intelligent human being will be foiled in his aggressive attempt to possess a weapon.

More to the point - the very same people who rail in support of gun control are ALSO among the group of people who protest against the number of portals that are open for young males to enter into the Prison Industrial Complex.  They point out how as police are given yet another gateway to stop a protected class of people this increases the number of interactions and the likelihood that they will end up in jail.  There is a grand disconnection between what they enable today from their protests and what they protest tomorrow due to the unintended consequences of their past activism.

Question: Do Liberalized Gun Acquisition Laws Lead To Gun Violence?
Prior to answering this question there needs to be a model by which we can appraise the data that is found.


Gun Violence In The United States by State