@article{ref1,
title="'May issue' gun carrying laws and police discretion: some evidence from Massachusetts",
journal="Journal of public health policy",
year="2015",
author="Hemenway, David A. and Hicks, James G.",
volume="36",
number="3",
pages="324-334",
abstract="In almost all states in the United States, to carry a concealed handgun legally requires a permit from the police. Many states have changed from may-issue laws (where the local police chief has discretion about to whom to issue a license) to shall-issue laws (where the police chief must issue a permit if the applicant passes a computerized federal background check). Studies conflict on the effect on crime. None considered the situation in may-issue states when police used discretion and refused to issue a permit. We provide suggestive evidence from a December 2013 survey of police chiefs in Massachusetts' 351 cities and towns. Of the 121 responding police chiefs, a large majority favored retaining police discretion. Chiefs issued few discretionary denials - median 2 per year, citing providing false information, a history of assault (often domestic violence), a history of drug or alcohol abuse, or of mental-health issues as the most common reasons for denial.Journal of Public Health Policy advance online publication, 16 April 2015; doi:10.1057/jphp.2015.11.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0197-5897",
doi="10.1057/jphp.2015.11",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2015.11"
}