No. I'm not disputing the murder rates. Those are probably very accurate for that year. I'm disputing the claim that red states have a murder problem based on one year of information.

> It was a pandemic year in every one of these states.

Not equally. Given the information they used, it is entirely plausible that the murder rate did not increase more in blue states because, in general, they weren't allowed to go outside unlike, say, Florida. To be clear, this is not "proof" that an ideology is better. This is a temporary measure that could lead to longer term issues.

> What if the two of them are linked?

That's what I'm saying. This article is claiming a link without actually analyzing the impact. You need a longitudinal study is my whole point.