@article{ref1,
title="Gun control after Heller:  litigating against regulation",
journal="NBER working papers series",
year="2009",
author="Cook, Philip J. and Ludwig, Jens and Samaha, Adam",
volume="2009",
number="online",
pages="w15431-w15431",
abstract="The &quot;core right&quot; established in D.C. vs. Heller (2008) is to keep an operable handgun in the home for self-defense purposes.  If the Court extends this right to cover state and local jurisdictions, the result is likely to include the elimination of the most stringent existing regulations - such as Chicago's handgun ban - and could also possibly ban regulations that place substantial restrictions or costs on handgun ownership.  We find evidence in support of four conclusions:  The effect of Heller may be to increase the prevalence of handgun ownership in jurisdictions that currently have restrictive laws;  Given the best evidence on the consequences of increased prevalence of gun ownership, these jurisdictions will experience a greater burden of crime due to more lethal violence and an increased burglary rate;  Nonetheless, a regime with greater scope for gun rights is not necessarily inferior - whether restrictive regulations would pass a cost benefit test may depend on whether we accept the Heller viewpoint that there is a legal entitlement to possess a handgun;  In any event, the core right defined by Heller leaves room for some regulation that would reduce the negative externalities of gun ownership.<p />",
language="en",
issn="0898-2937",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}