Abstract
Background
The movement of firearm across state lines may decrease the effectiveness of state-level firearm laws. Yet, how state-level firearm policies affect cross-state movement have not ...yet been widely explored. This study aims to characterize the interstate movement of firearms and its relationship with state-level firearm policies.
Methods
We analyzed the network of interstate firearm movement using Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives firearm trace data (2010–2017). We constructed the network of firearm movement between 50 states. We used zero-inflated negative binomial regression to estimate the relationship between the number of a state’s firearm laws and number of states for which it was the source of 100 or more firearms, adjusting for state characteristics. We used a similar model to examine the relationship between firearm laws and the number of states for which a given state was the destination of 100 or more firearms.
Results
Over the 8-year period, states had an average of 26 (Standard Deviation SD 25.2) firearm laws. On average, a state was the source of 100 or more crime-related firearms for 2.2 (SD 2.7) states and was the destination of 100 or more crime-related firearms for 2.2 (SD 3.4) states. Greater number of firearm laws was associated with states being the source of 100 or more firearms to fewer states (Incidence Rate Ratio IRR 0.58 per SD,
p
< 0.001) and being the destination of 100 or more firearms from more states (IRR1.73 per SD,
p
< 0.001).
Conclusions
Restrictive state-level firearm policies are associated with less movement of firearms to other states, but with more movement of firearms from outside states. The effectiveness of state-level firearm-restricting laws is complicated by a network of interstate firearm movement.
Abstract
Despite promising results from individual-level studies, state-level studies of the effectiveness of comprehensive background-check (CBC) policies in reducing firearm fatalities have yielded ...null results in multiple states. These prior studies focused on CBC laws adopted in the 1990s, when record keeping was far less complete. We estimated the effect of the implementation of CBC policies on state-level firearm homicide and suicide rates in states implementing CBC policies from 2013 to 2015 (Colorado, Delaware, Oregon, and Washington). We compared age-adjusted firearm homicide and suicide rates, measured annually from 15 years prior to policy implementation until 2019, in each treated state to rates in control groups constructed using the synthetic control group method. Differences in firearm homicide rates for Colorado, Oregon, and Washington post treatment were all small (0.09 to 0.18 per 100,000 residents per year) and not well distinguished from natural variation. Oregon had on average 0.80 per 100,000 fewer firearm suicides per year than did synthetic Oregon post treatment. However, these results were inconsistent across modeling approaches and not well distinguished from natural variation. Our models produced poor fit for Delaware. Coupled with previous null results from Indiana, California, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, the present results suggest that extending background check requirements to private transfers alone and implementing these policies as is currently done is not sufficient to achieve significant state-level reductions in firearm fatalities.
Public health approaches to crime and injury prevention are increasingly focused on the physical places and environments where violence is concentrated. In this study, our aim is to explore the ...association between historic place-based racial discrimination captured in the 1937 Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) map of Philadelphia and present-day violent crime and firearm injuries. The creators of the 1937 HOLC map zoned Philadelphia based in a hierarchical system wherein first-grade and green color zones were used to indicate areas desirable for government-backed mortgage lending and economic development, a second-grade or blue zone for areas that were already developed and stable, a third-grade or yellow zone for areas with evidence of decline and influx of a “low grade population,” and fourth-grade or red zone for areas with dilapidated or informal housing and an “undesirable population” of predominately Black residents. We conducted an empirical spatial analysis of the concentration of firearm assaults and violent crimes in 2013 through 2014 relative to zoning in the 1937 HOLC map. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors at the time the map was created from the 1940 Census, firearm injury rates are highest in historically red-zoned areas of Philadelphia. The relationship between HOLC map zones and general violent crime is not supported after adjusting for historical Census data. This analysis extends historic perspective to the relationship between emplaced structural racism and violence, and situates the socio-ecological context in which people live at the forefront of this association.
•Examines the emplacement of racialized housing discrimination documented in a 1937 map of a US city (Philadelphia).•Uses spatial analysis to evaluate the relationship between structural racism and firearm violence.•Reveals how historical discrimination may have shaped the segregation of contemporary urban violence exposure.
There is substantial evidence indicating that the NRA’s (National Rifle Association) political influence is closely tied to the deep political engagement of the minority of Americans who oppose ...strict gun control laws. This explanation of the NRA’s influence, however, raises its own questions; namely, why are gun owners so devoted to their cause, and why is the NRA so effective at mobilizing them? I marshal a wide range of evidence covering nearly nine decades to demonstrate that an important cause of the political activity of gun owners is the NRA’s long-term cultivation and dissemination of a distinct, politicized gun owner social identity, which the NRA uses to mobilize mass political action on its behalf. My findings shed new light on the ability of interest groups to develop and use resources that help them influence policy by altering the political behavior of members of the mass public.
The purpose of this study is to address a significant gap in knowledge on firearm ownership rates and storage characteristics in a national sample of college students. We used 2021-2022 survey data ...from the Healthy Minds Study, which included approximately 88,500 students at over 100 US colleges and universities. We conducted analyses using descriptive statistics and two-sample proportion tests. About 4% of respondents reported having a firearm on or around campus. Among firearm owners, 68.8% reported storing firearms at their permanent address within an hour's drive from campus, and 43.1% reported storing their firearms unloaded and locked. Firearm ownership rates were significantly higher for respondents who were positive for specific risk factors (i.e., in a relationship, suicide ideation, recent binge drinking, and having been physically assaulted) versus those who were negative. These findings support the need for targeted messaging and firearm safety training for college students to reduce firearm-related risks.
Firearm possession increases the likelihood of hospital visits among adolescents and emerging adults for both males and females. To better inform prevention practices, we examine data among ...adolescents and emerging adults (A/EAs; ages 16 to 29) presenting to an urban emergency department for any reason to understand the differences in firearm possession between males and females (N = 1312; 29.6% male; 50.5% Black). Regression identified firearm possession correlates, such as male sex (AOR = 2.26), firearm attitudes (AOR = 1.23), peer firearm possession (AOR = 9.84), and community violence exposure (AOR = 1.02). When stratified by sex (e.g., male vs female), regression results yielded differences in correlates for firearm possession: in males, peer firearm possession (AOR = 8.96) were significant, and in females, firearm attitudes (AOR = 1.33) and peer firearm possession (AOR = 11.24) were significant. An interaction between sex and firearm attitudes demonstrated that firearm attitudes were differentially associated with firearm possession between female and male A/EAs (AOR = 1.28). Overall, we found that females are more likely to endorse retaliatory firearm attitudes, and both males and females are highly influenced by their perception of peer firearm possession. These results help inform prevention strategies across multiple settings, especially for hospital-based violence interventions, and suggest that tailored approaches addressing differences between male and female A/EAs are appropriate when addressing firearm violence and injury risk among A/EAs.
•In recent studies, researchers have found an increased rate of female firearm possession.•Our study provides insight into the sex differences in firearm possession.•Significant differences existed in firearm possession between the sexes.•Results suggest prevention efforts should be tailored by sex.
Firearm control laws vary across the United States and remain state specific. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between variation in states' firearm control laws and the risk of ...firearm-related injuries in pediatric population. We hypothesized that strict firearm control laws impact the incidence of pediatric firearm injury.
All patients with trauma Ecodes and those 18 years or younger were identified from the 2009 Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Individual states' firearm control laws were evaluated and scored based on background checks on firearm sales, permit requirements, assault weapon and large-capacity magazine ban, mandatory child safety lock requirements, and regulations regarding firearms in college and workplaces. States were then dichotomized into strict firearm laws (SFLs) and non-strict firearm laws (non-SFLs) state based on median total score. The primary outcome measure was incidence of firearm injury. Data were compared between the two groups using simple linear regression analysis.
A total of 60,224 pediatric patients with trauma-related injuries across 44 states were included. Thirty-three states were categorized as non-SFL and 11 as SFL. Two hundred eighty-six (0.5%) had firearm injuries, of which 31 were self-inflicted. Mean firearm injury rates per 1,000 trauma patients was higher in the non-SFL states (mean SD: SFL, 2.2 1.6; non-SFL, 5.9 5.6; p = 0. 001). Being in a non-SFL state increased the mean firearm injury rate by 3.75 (β coefficient, 3.75; 95% confidence interval, 0.25-7.25; p = 0.036).
Children living in states with strict firearm legislation are safer. Efforts to improve and standardize national firearm control laws are warranted.
Prognostic study, level III.
Introduction
The United States (US) holds the highest personal firearm ownership among industrialized nations, with implications for firearm-related deaths tied to increased per capita gun ownership ...and varying gun laws. This study examines the influence of gun law strength on legal firearm transactions, positing a correlation between stronger laws and reduced transactions. The analysis, focused on the stress-laden COVID-19 pandemic, evaluates handgun, long gun, and multiple gun transactions in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2018-2019.
Methods
The Giffords Gun Law scorecard categorized states into the top 25 “strong” and bottom 25 “weak” gun law groups. Multivariate linear regressions assessed the association between strong gun law states and monthly National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) data from 2018 to 2021. The study queried NICS for handgun, long gun, and multiple gun transactions, comparing median monthly transactions in 2018 and 2019 to 2020 and 2018-2020 to 2021.
Results
When evaluating gun law strength through multivariate linear regression models, stronger gun law states had fewer monthly NICS transactions for handguns, long guns, and multiple guns in 2020 and 2021 versus all comparison years (all P < .05). However, from 2018-2019 to 2020 and 2018-2020 to 2021, median monthly NICS transactions per 100,000 people for all gun types increased (all P < .05).
Conclusion
Stricter gun laws correlated with decreased firearm transactions in stronger law states, yet handgun, long gun, and multiple gun transactions increased during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. Therefore, strengthening firearm legislation may be protective against the proliferation of firearms, which warrants further research.
•Firearm injuries are the second leading cause of injury-related death in the USA in children less than 18.•Analysis of the trauma data bank for firearm discharges from 2013 to 2017 showed that the ...leading victims were predominantly male (86%) and of African American (60%) and Caucasian (26%) ethnicity.•Overall mortality rate was 6% with no significant differences between years.•Firearm injury prevention legislation is critical to prevent such injures.
Firearm injuries are the second leading cause of injury-related death in the USA in children less than 18. We compared overall and intent-specific firearm hospitalizations across age group and race to understand recent trends.
A retrospective cohort of 20,083 children from the national trauma data bank involved in incidences of firearm discharges from 2013 to 2017 was divided by race, discharge intent, gun type, and four age groups: infants (ages 0–2), toddlers (3–6), children (7–12), and adolescents (13–18). Discharge intent and gun type were determined by ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM External Causes of Injury codes. Injury severity score (ISS), hospital discharge disposition, and length of stay (LOS) were used as predictors for morbidity and mortality.
From 2013 to 2017, there were on an average 4016 firearm injuries reported to the NTDB (n = 20,083). 71% (n = 14,313) of the incidents were assaults. Victims who identified as African American and Caucasian made up 60% (n = 11,890) and 26% (n = 5162) of the total victims, respectively, and were predominantly male (86%, n = 17,202). Victims who identified as Caucasian made up 70% of suicides (n = 819), while African Americans made up 70% of assaults (n = 9733). 87% (n = 17,525) of the patient population were adolescents. The number of accidental firearm discharges compared to firearm assaults was greater for toddlers, while the opposite was true for infants, children, and adolescents. Average LOS by age group varied each year, though children had the highest total average LOS. Average ISS was highest for infants and adolescents (11.5 and 10.4) and American Indians and Caucasians (10.1 and 11.1). Overall mortality rate was 6% (n = 1220) and had no significant differences between years. Mortality rate was highest for infants (7%, n = 25).
Adolescent males and African Americans were disproportionately affected by overall and assault-specific firearm discharges. Firearm injury prevention legislation is critical to prevent these injures.
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