This article summarizes a study done by Loftin et al (1991) on the effects of handgun control laws on homicide & suicide in the District of Columbia (see SIEC #920228). Homicides & suicides by firearms both decreased by about 25% after the new legislation; rates in corresponding metropolitan areas remained unchanged. There was no compensatory increase in the rate of homicides or suicides by methods other than guns in the D.C. area.