As Congress and legislatures across the country debate new gun legislation, pro-gun advocates respond by arguing that more restrictions do nothing to keep guns out of the wrong hands or to reduce gun violence.

True, no law will stop all gun- related violence. However, research published online in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that states with the most gun control laws generally had the lowest rates of death by firearms. The study compared gun laws in the 50 states against the number of suicides and homicides committed with firearms from 2007 through 2010. The overall firearm fatality rate was 9.9 for every 100,000 people per year.

Louisiana, a state with few gun restrictions, had the highest firearm fatality rate, 17.9 per 100,000 population. Nevada, a state with few restrictions, had almost 15 firearm-related deaths for every 100,000 residents, including the fourth highest rate of suicide of any state.

Hawaii, a state with strict gun laws, had the lowest rate, 2.9 firearm deaths per 100,000 people. California, judged to have the second most restrictive firearm laws during the study period, had eight firearm deaths -- four suicides and four homicides -- for every 100,000 population.

Dr. Eric Fleegler, a physician at Boston Children's Hospital and lead author of the study, told the Boston Globe: "Critics of gun laws have said that gun laws don't work, but our research indicates the opposite."

But Dr. Garen Wintemute, a University of California at Davis Medical School professor and firearm violence researcher, pointed to shortcomings in the study. The research does not, for example, measure differences in laws enacted by the states or the effectiveness with which states enforce their laws.

The Boston study makes clear the need to fully fund research into gun violence. There is no legitimate reason to restrict science. In the thrall of gun advocates, Congress long ago restricted the ability of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to undertake and fund serious research on the topic.

After the Newtown, Conn., slaughter, President Barack Obama called for an end to restrictions on research funding. That could turn out to be Obama's most far-reaching recommendation to curb gun-related violence.