A new study released by the CDC shows that homicides, including gun related homicides are at a thirty year low for people ages 10-24, USA Today reports.

This should come as a surprise to many anti-gun groups but not to those of us that own firearms. In fact, the rate of youth homicides has been on a steady decline despite an increase of gun ownership by private citizens. Not only that, there has been an increase of gun carry permits issued and an increase in the number of states with “stand your ground” or “castle doctrine” laws.

This study will prove useful as the gun control debate begins to shift from semi-auto rifle bans to issues of self-defense and concealed carry laws.

From USA Today,

The lower rate of youth homicide — those killed by other people — was true across all age, racial and ethnic youth groups, say the findings published in CDC’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.”

The overall homicide rate in 2010 was 7.5 deaths per 100,000 people in that age group — the lowest rate since 1981. That translates to about 4,828 homicides in this age range.

“We were very pleased to see a promising decline that began in 1994 and has continued so that in 2010 we reached a 30-year low,” says the paper’s lead author, Corinne Ferdon, a behavioral scientist with the CDC.