WOULD BANNING FIREARMS REDUCE MURDER AND SUICIDE Vol30 No2 KatesMauseronline Harvard Law Review 
WOULD BANNING FIREARMS REDUCE
MURDER AND SUICIDE?
A REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL AND
SOME DOMESTIC EVIDENCE
DON B. KATES* AND GARY MAUSER**
INTRODUCTION ............................................................650
I. VIOLENCE: THE DECISIVENESS OF
SOCIAL FACTORS ...................................................660
II. ASKING THE WRONG QUESTION ..........................662
III. DO ORDINARY PEOPLE MURDER?........................665
IV. MORE GUNS, LESS CRIME?....................................670
V. GEOGRAPHIC, HISTORICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC
PATTERNS ...............................................................673
A. Demographic Patterns ..................................676
B. Macro‐historical Evidence: From the
Middle Ages to the 20th Century .................678
C. Later and More Specific Macro‐Historical
Evidence..........................................................684
D. Geographic Patterns within Nations ..........685 * Don B. Kates (LL.B., Yale, 1966) is an American criminologist and constitutional lawyer associated with the Pacific Research Institute, San Francisco. He may be con‐ tacted at dbkates@earthlink.net; 360‐666‐2688; 22608 N.E. 269th Ave., Battle Ground,
WA 98604.
** Gary Mauser (Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1970) is a Canadian crimi‐ nologist and university professor at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC Canada.
He may be contacted at www.garymauser.net, mauser@sfu.ca, and 604‐291‐3652.
We gratefully acknowledge the generous contributions of Professor Thomas B. Cole
(University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Social Medicine and Epidemiology);
Chief Superintendent Colin Greenwood (West Yorkshire Constabulary, ret.); C.B.
Kates; Abigail Kohn (University of Sydney, Law); David B. Kopel (Independence
Institute); Professor Timothy D. Lytton (Albany Law
MURDER AND SUICIDE?
A REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL AND
SOME DOMESTIC EVIDENCE
DON B. KATES* AND GARY MAUSER**
INTRODUCTION ............................................................650
I. VIOLENCE: THE DECISIVENESS OF
SOCIAL FACTORS ...................................................660
II. ASKING THE WRONG QUESTION ..........................662
III. DO ORDINARY PEOPLE MURDER?........................665
IV. MORE GUNS, LESS CRIME?....................................670
V. GEOGRAPHIC, HISTORICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC
PATTERNS ...............................................................673
A. Demographic Patterns ..................................676
B. Macro‐historical Evidence: From the
Middle Ages to the 20th Century .................678
C. Later and More Specific Macro‐Historical
Evidence..........................................................684
D. Geographic Patterns within Nations ..........685 * Don B. Kates (LL.B., Yale, 1966) is an American criminologist and constitutional lawyer associated with the Pacific Research Institute, San Francisco. He may be con‐ tacted at dbkates@earthlink.net; 360‐666‐2688; 22608 N.E. 269th Ave., Battle Ground,
WA 98604.
** Gary Mauser (Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1970) is a Canadian crimi‐ nologist and university professor at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC Canada.
He may be contacted at www.garymauser.net, mauser@sfu.ca, and 604‐291‐3652.
We gratefully acknowledge the generous contributions of Professor Thomas B. Cole
(University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Social Medicine and Epidemiology);
Chief Superintendent Colin Greenwood (West Yorkshire Constabulary, ret.); C.B.
Kates; Abigail Kohn (University of Sydney, Law); David B. Kopel (Independence
Institute); Professor Timothy D. Lytton (Albany Law