The study tests a theory of homicide. Previous research in the area has found the Southern portion of the United States to experience rates of homicide which exceed those of the non-South even when controlling for various etiological variables. The high rates of deadly violence in the Southern states have been attributed to violent cultural patterns which are assumed to exist in these areas. This study dispenses with the practice of inferring the existence of a Southern subculture of violence from measures of region and attempts to explain the variation in homicide with more concrete etiological variables. / It is argued that homicide is often the result of a violent outburst in which the intention to kill is ambiguous. If this is true, then the deadliness of the weapon which is used in an attack should have some bearing on the extent to which violent outbursts culminate in the death of the victim. Since firearms are perceived to be the deadliest of weapons which are likely to be used in an assault situation, it is hypothesized that homicide rates should vary directly with the accessibility of firearms. Homicide is seen as being largely a function of the extent to which assaults are carried out with deadly weapons. This is consistent with the findings of Gastil (1971) and Hackney (1969) since firearms appear to be most accessible in the South. / The theory is generally supported by the data. However, although the accessibility of firearms is found to be an important determinant of homicide, this is not the case for the restrictiveness of gun control legislation. It is concluded that gun control laws, as they currently exist in the United States, do not seem to effectively reduce the accessibility of firearms. Several reasons are given regarding why the currently existing gun control legislation cannot logically be expected to reduce homicide and it is suggested that perhaps a nation-wide system of restrictive firearms legislation would be more effective. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-12, Section: A, page: 5258. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74714 |
| Contributors | HOROWITZ, WENDY., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 322 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
Page generated in 0.0025 seconds