Here at Bearing Arms, we try to make certain that we don’t confuse correlation (the relationship of things happening together) with causation (the act or influence of one thing or event causing another).

That plainly stated, there’s an interesting bit of correlation that has been occurring since the mid-1980s when concealed carry began to spread across the nation that has now made it’s way to the “murder capitol” of the United States.

Illinois was forced to adopt “shall issue” concealed carry by the courts, and began accepting applications for permits in early January.

The Sun-Times is now reporting that something else seems to have started happening—actually, not happening—at roughly the same time:

Chicago’s first-quarter murder total this year hit its lowest number since 1958, police say.

The first three months of the year saw 6 fewer murders than the same time frame in 2013–a 9 percent drop–and 55 fewer murders than 2012, according to a statement from Chicago Police.

There were 90 fewer shootings and 119 fewer shooting victims, drops of 26 and 29 percent respectively, according to police statistics. Compared to the first quarter of 2012, there have been 222 fewer shootings and 292 fewer shooting victims.

Only time will tell if this is a temporary “glitch” in the murder machine that is Chicago, or if the Windy City and the rest of Illinois is going to realize the sort of “peace dividend” that other states have seen as “shall issue” concealed carry permitting slowly becomes the law of the land.