Researchers based in Charleston have published a study showing that violent crime is worse in Mountain State regions with the greatest number of pistols - especially where there's a high rate of "illegal guns" that have been stolen.

"Gun Availability and Crime in West Virginia" is the title of a report in the Justice Research and Policy professional journal. It was written by Dr. Stephen Haas and others at the Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center, a unit of the West Virginia Division of Criminal Justice Services.

The survey - designed to support America's "Project Safe Neighborhoods" to reduce gun violence - compares county-by-county figures in three categories: the per-capita rate of violent crimes, the per-capita rate of "legal guns" as indicated by concealed pistol permits, and the per-capita rate of "illegal guns" as indicated by thefts reported to police.

The authors acknowledge that these categories are fuzzy, because some gun thefts aren't reported to police and some unlicensed "street guns" are traded informally among drug dealers and others. "More comprehensive measures of true illegal gun activity are likely to be substantially higher," the report says.

Counties with a high rate of legal guns have more violence, the study found - but the danger soars further in counties with many illegal guns.

"The results indicate that counties with high concentrations of both legal and illegal guns are associated with violent crime, gun crime and knife crime," the report concludes. "... Our analysis supports the notion that both legal and illegal guns contribute in specific ways to crime problems in West Virginia."

The authors added that their findings contradict the common belief that legal, licensed pistols kept for self-defense cause crime rates to be lower.

Kanawha and Mercer counties - the Charleston and Bluefield regions - have the state's worst gun crime rates, according to the journal article.

Thoughtful West Virginians should ponder this report. It's a shame that most legislators fear the right-to-bear-arms lobby so much that they constantly vote for more pistol-carrying. The report's conclusion is clear: The more pistols, the more crime.

"Gun Availability and Crime in West Virginia" is the title of a report in the Justice Research and Policy professional journal. It was written by Dr. Stephen Haas and others at the Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center, a unit of the West Virginia Division of Criminal Justice Services.

The survey - designed to support America's "Project Safe Neighborhoods" to reduce gun violence - compares county-by-county figures in three categories: the per-capita rate of violent crimes, the per-capita rate of "legal guns" as indicated by concealed pistol permits, and the per-capita rate of "illegal guns" as indicated by thefts reported to police.

The authors acknowledge that these categories are fuzzy, because some gun thefts aren't reported to police and some unlicensed "street guns" are traded informally among drug dealers and others. "More comprehensive measures of true illegal gun activity are likely to be substantially higher," the report says.

Counties with a high rate of legal guns have more violence, the study found - but the danger soars further in counties with many illegal guns.

"The results indicate that counties with high concentrations of both legal and illegal guns are associated with violent crime, gun crime and knife crime," the report concludes. "... Our analysis supports the notion that both legal and illegal guns contribute in specific ways to crime problems in West Virginia."

The authors added that their findings contradict the common belief that legal, licensed pistols kept for self-defense cause crime rates to be lower.

Kanawha and Mercer counties - the Charleston and Bluefield regions - have the state's worst gun crime rates, according to the journal article.

Thoughtful West Virginians should ponder this report. It's a shame that most legislators fear the right-to-bear-arms lobby so much that they constantly vote for more pistol-carrying. The report's conclusion is clear: The more pistols, the more crime.