Three million Americans carry loaded handguns on a daily basis, and 9 million do so monthly, according to a new study. The vast majority of those gun-holders — 82% — say they do it for self-protection.

The study — the first of its kind in 20 years — was conducted by the University of Washington School of Public Health, the University of Colorado, the Harvard School of Public Health and Northeastern University. The researchers surveyed the carrying habits of 1,444 handgun owners. One in four reported carrying a loaded gun in the past month, while one in three reported carrying daily.

…

Recent studies have shown that states with right-to-carry (RTC) concealed-handgun laws have higher rates of violent crime. “There is not even the slightest hint in the data that RTC laws reduce overall violent crime,” said John Donohue, a Stanford Law School professor, in a study released in June. It found that states which adopted right-to-carry laws experienced a 13 to 15 percent increase in violent crime within 10 years of their passage.