Even with one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the United States, New Hampshire is the lowest of states regarding murder rates, according to FBI data.
With Maine and Vermont following close behind New Hampshire with low murder rates, all three allow Constitutional Carry, a.k.a. Permitless Carry.
When Gov. Chris Sununu signed a law doing away with concealed carry permits in 2017, the murder rate has dropped every year since. FBI data shows from 2017-2020, violent crime rates descended from 195.7 to 146.4 incidents per 100,000 people.
Violent crime shows in states with higher gun restrictions. Take Chicago, for example. Murder rates are rampant here and have risen over the years.
J.R. Hoell, with the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, said people in New Hampshire don’t make a big deal about carrying firearms; for the most part, it’s just part of life, he said. [Source: N.H. Journal]
Responsible gun ownership is a pathway to low crime in the sense if more law-abiding citizens are arming themselves, criminals must take a bigger risk if they really want to commit a violent crime.
It is ironic that places in the country with strict gun measures have more crimes, which shows that criminals are bound to take advantage of people who think they will be safe contrastingly by being defenseless.
Criminals in these low murder rate states with high gun ownership are deterred merely from the idea that a potential victim could and likely have the means to defend themselves.
