Notes on the Availability and Prevalence of Firearms

Legislators have formulated a variety of state and federal regulations to make obtaining firearms more difficult for dangerous people. Even though this goal may appear hopeless in the face of the 150-200 million guns currently in circulation, both evidence and economic logic suggest otherwise. Guns are scarce commodities, and policies that would make them scarcer, to reduce violent crimes that involve guns, warrant consideration. Possibilities include state-level regulation of gun dealers, interdiction of black markets where stolen guns are fenced, and an increase in the federal excise tax on guns.

Duke Scholars

Author Philip J. Cook Sanford School of Public Policy