In the debate over the right to keep and bear arms and the secondary question of the utility of being armed, some social scientists have attempted to show that the presence of guns makes people more aggressive. This claimed “weapons effect” has been discredited. The best summation of the failure to show such an effect, in my opinion, was this article published in The Volokh Conspiracy in 2011. Here is a small excerpt:Thus, EMA v. Brown rejects the “violent video game effect” studies for failing to demonstrate a compelling state interest. Indeed, EMA suggests that the …read more

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