Invited commentary: Concealed carrying of firearms, public policy, and opportunities for mitigating harm.

In the last 30 years, 25 US states have relaxed laws regulating the concealed carrying of firearms (CCW laws). These changes may have substantial impacts on violent crime. Doucette and colleagues (Am J Epidemiol. 2022;XX(YY):PP-pp) used a synthetic control approach to assess the effects of shifting from more restrictive "May/No-Issue" to less restrictive "Shall-Issue" CCW laws on homicides, aggravated assaults, and robberies involving a gun or by other means. The study adds to the evidence that more permissive CCW laws have likely increased firearm assault in states adopting these laws. Importantly, this study is the first to identify that specific provisions of Shall-Issue CCW laws-including denying permits to those with violent misdemeanor convictions, a history of dangerous behavior, or "questionable character", and live fire training requirements-may help mitigate harms associated with Shall-Issue CCW laws. These findings are timely and salient given the recent Supreme Court ruling striking down a defining element of May-Issue laws. This thorough study offers actionable results and provides a methodological model for state firearm policy evaluations. Its limitations reflect needs of the field more broadly: greater focus on racial/ethnic equity and within-state variation, plus strengthening the data infrastructure on firearm violence and crime.