Associations Between Gun Laws and Suicides

Ghiani, Marco; Hawkins, Summer Sherburne; Baum, Christopher F.

doi:10.1093/aje/kwz069

Cited by 29 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This study supports the hypothesis that states with a higher number of firearm-related laws had lower rates of firearm-related suicides among older adults compared with states with fewer firearm laws, building on previous work that has found this same relationship in the general population 13 . However, there appeared to be a slight increase in non-firearm-related suicides in this age group, which was also seen in a recent study by Ghiani et al (2019), although they observed no impact on state firearm-related laws on non-firearm suicides overall 15 . Those results differ from those reported here, which found a significant association between the number of gun laws and fewer overall suicides.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…The impact on non-firearm suicides is less clear. In one study examining the impact of state gun laws on both firearm and non-firearm suicides, there was a reduction in firearm suicides but not in non-firearm suicides in the population as a whole 15 . Among older individuals, however, there was an increase in non-firearm suicides seen 15 , raising concerns about whether additional policies are needed for subgroups who may shift to non-firearm suicides.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gun Violence Restraining Order Laws and Firearm Suicide among Older Adults: A Longitudinal State-Level Analysis

Saadi¹,

Choi²,

Takada³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background: Older adults commit suicide at a disproportionately higher rate compared to the general population, with firearms the most common means of suicide. State gun laws may be a policy remedy. Less is known about Gun Violence Restricting Order (GVRO) laws, which allow for removal of firearms from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, and their effects on suicide rates among older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of state firearm laws with the incidence of firearm, non-firearm-related, and total suicide among older adults, with a focus on GVRO laws. Methods: This is a longitudinal study of US states using data from 2012 to 2016. The outcome variables were firearm, non-firearm and total suicide rates among older adults. Predictor variables were (1) total number of gun laws to assess for impact of overall firearm legislation at the state level, and (2) GVRO laws. Results: The total number of firearm laws, as well as GVRO laws, were negatively associated with firearm-related suicide rate among older adults (p<0.001). There was a small but significant positive association of total number of firearm laws to non-firearm-related suicide rates and a negative association with total suicide rate. GVRO laws were not significantly associated with non-firearm-related suicide and were negatively associated with total suicide rate. Conclusion: Stricter firearm legislation, as well as GVRO laws, are protective against firearm-relate suicides among older adults.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gun Violence Restraining Order Laws and Firearm Suicide among Older Adults: A Longitudinal State-Level Analysis

Saadi¹,

Choi²,

Takada³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…Multilple comparisons have found states with more restrictive firearm legislation to have lower pediatric, unintentional, suicide, and overall firearm-related fatality rates, and more slowly rising suicide rates. [11][12][13][14][15] A casecontrol study of firearms in events identified by medical examiner and coroner offices from 37 counties in Washington, Oregon, and Missouri, and 5 trauma centers in Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, and Kansas City found that 4 practices of keeping a gun locked, unloaded, storing ammunition locked, and in a separate location are each associated with a protective effect for firarm injuries in homes with children and teenagers where guns are stored. 16 Having a gun in the home is associated with an increased firearm death risk for everyone in the home, including <5 year-olds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing Firearm Deaths in The Youngest Americans: Ecologic Correlation with Firearm Prevalence

Bleyer

Siegel

Thomas

2019

Preprint

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Background: In the United States (U.S.), the overall death rate in 1-4 year-olds had been steadily declining until 2011, after which it ceased to improve. To understand this trend reversal, we investigated trends in the causes of their deaths. Methods: Mortality data were obtained from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, firearm background check data from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and civilian firearm prevalence from the Small Arms Survey. Findings: In 1-4 year-olds, the rate of fatal firearm accidents during 2002-2017 increased exponentially at an average rate of 6.0%/year (p=0.0003). The rate of increase was the greatest of all evaluable causes of death in the age group. Both the rate increase and most recent absolute rate in firearm accidental deaths in young children were correlated with the concurrent corresponding rate of firearm background checks (p = 0.0002 and 0.003, respectively). Also, the firearm accidental death rate in countries with high civilian firearm prevalence was correlated with the number of guns per civilian population (p=0.002). Interpretation: Prior to 2004, the childhood firearm death rate did not increase during the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Since 2004 when the Ban ended, the steadily increasing rate of sales and concomitant availability of, and access to, firearms in the U.S. has been associated with an increase in fatal firearm accidents in its youngest children. The acceleration of firearm deaths and injuries among young Americans requires urgent, definitive solutions that address firearm prevalence. Funding: No external funding.

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“…Following other studies (1,11,15), the independent variable was the rearm law strength score, an unweighted count of state-level rearm laws, with higher scores denoting more laws regulating rearms and fewer laws deregulating rearms (e.g. law providing blanket immunity to rearm manufacturers).…”

Section: Independent Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Network analysis of firearm movement among US states

Takada¹,

Choi²,

Natsui³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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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: Cross-sectional time series network analysis 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 (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 (IRR0.67 per SD, p<0.001), higher odds of not being a source to any states (aOR1.56 per SD, p<0.001), and states being the destination of 100 or more firearms from more states (IRR1.83 per SD, p<0.001).Conclusions: Restrictive 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.

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Associations Between Gun Laws and Suicides

Cited by 29 publications

References 25 publications

Gun Violence Restraining Order Laws and Firearm Suicide among Older Adults: A Longitudinal State-Level Analysis

Gun Violence Restraining Order Laws and Firearm Suicide among Older Adults: A Longitudinal State-Level Analysis

Increasing Firearm Deaths in The Youngest Americans: Ecologic Correlation with Firearm Prevalence

Network analysis of firearm movement among US states

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