Worth the Wait?
Do waiting periods help or hurt? The answer is “it’s messy,” but in short, they are ineffective. Take-aways Only one of 16 study combinations showed any significant change. On one statistical measure, the effects in the other 15 combinations were likely random. The Claim Advocates claim that waiting periods reduce homicides and suicides. The theory (which, as you will see, is wrong) is that some significant number of murders and suicides occur spontaneously. Advocates proffer that a person who gets angry or depressed goes to a gun store and then murders someone or kills themselves right away. This assumption does not conform with what we know about most gun homicides and suicides.
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