Packing Heat in the Tar Heel State: A County-Level Assessment of Concealed Carry Permits

Abstract

This study analyzes variations in the rates at which North Carolina citizens apply for and are issued concealed carry permits (CCPs). Various theories, primarily those related to fear of/response to crime, demographic/geographic factors, and social learning theories of gun ownership, guide the analysis. Generally speaking, the authors find little support for socioeconomic and demographic explanations of CCPs in North Carolina. In addition, the authors find no support for the notion that violent or property crimes, or changes in these crimes over time, affect CCP policy. The authors do find some evidence that change in minority population (Black, but not Hispanic) is significantly related to permitting. In North Carolina, there is support for a cultural model of CCPs. Both the political conservatism and the proportion of hunters in the population (our indicator of a cultural norm that values and cherishes gun ownership) are consistently related to permitting. The authors conclude that the combination of political conservatism and socialization into a hunting/ gun-owning culture are more important than socioeconomic variables in explaining CCPs.

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