A recent study published in Psychology of Violence has some pretty interesting findings about psychopathy and its connection to gun violence.
But here’s the part that should come as no surprise to you: while psychopathic traits are linked to illegal gun use and violent confrontations, they have nothing to do with lawful gun ownership or legal concealed carry.
This discovery should play a key role in gun violence prevention efforts, especially when it comes to separating law-abiding gun owners from those engaging in criminal behavior.
To recap, and let’s hope ant-2A organizations are paying attention: it’s the criminals, stupid!
The study, conducted by Nicholas D. Thomson from Virginia Commonwealth University and his co-author Sophie L. Kjaervik, involved 343 adults who had been treated for violent injuries at a trauma center.
The researchers specifically focused on psychopathic traits, which include things like emotional coldness, impulsivity, and a lack of empathy.
These traits are already known to be tied to general violence, but this study zeroed in on gun-related behaviors. What they found was striking.
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For starters, psychopathic traits—particularly antisocial behavior—were strongly associated with illegal gun carrying. Individuals who scored high on these traits were much more likely to carry a gun without a legal permit.
They were also more likely to use a firearm in “self-defense,” though the researchers point out that this could mean they’re either finding themselves in violent situations or framing their actions as self-defense when they were actually the aggressors.
But what about legal gun owners?
As mentioned, the study found no connection between psychopathy and carrying a firearm with a legal permit. In other words, the traits that lead someone to carry a gun illegally or use it in violent confrontations don’t apply to those who follow the law.
It goes without saying, but this distinction is a HUGE DEAL because it reinforces the widely-held belief in the 2A community that lawful gun ownership and illegal gun use are driven by very different motivations.
As Sophie Kjaervik explained to PsyPost, “This means that psychopathy differentiates those who engage in gun violence from others but does not predict legal gun use, suggesting that psychopathy is an important target for gun violence prevention efforts that do not impact law-abiding owners.”
Put another way, prevention efforts should focus more on addressing psychopathy and related traits rather than imposing restrictions on legal gun ownership.
The study makes it clear that not all gun owners are the same. Those who legally own and carry firearms are distinct from those who engage in illegal gun behaviors, both in their motivations and their psychological traits.
This research should be a wake-up call to policymakers who often conflate lawful gun ownership with criminal gun use. The real focus should be on identifying and preventing individuals with psychopathic traits from accessing firearms illegally.
Again, prevention efforts should focus on the criminal class — gangsters, drug dealers, convicted offenders!
While the study sheds light on the relationship between psychopathy and gun violence, it does come with a few limitations. For one, it’s cross-sectional, meaning it shows correlations but doesn’t definitively prove cause and effect.
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More long-term studies will be needed to firmly determine whether psychopathic traits actually cause individuals to engage in violent or illegal gun behavior. Still, the findings are a solid step forward in understanding the real drivers of gun violence.
To sum it up, this research gives us a clearer picture of the difference between lawful and unlawful gun behavior. While psychopathy is clearly linked to illegal firearm use, it has no bearing on those who responsibly carry guns with legal permits.
This distinction should be a key consideration in any future efforts to prevent gun violence, ensuring that law-abiding citizens aren’t unfairly targeted by restrictive policies aimed at reducing crime. Gun-grabbers, please take note!
The study, “Psychopathy, Gun Carrying, and Firearm Violence,” was published on August 22, 2024, in Psychology of Violence.
You can read more about it on PsyPost in an article by Eric W. Dolan titled “Psychopathy tied to unlawful firearm use but not legal gun ownership, study finds.”
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