Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Trends in firearm safety—do they correlate with fewer injuries

  • Gunshot Wounds and Blast Injuries (D Stinner and MK Sethi, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Firearm-related violence within the USA occurs at a much higher rate than other developed countries. While this rate is likely multifactorial in nature, a common debate within households and governments alike involves increased regulation of firearms in hopes of curtailing this violence. This article provides context in which to consider both the pros and cons of increased firearm regulation and a review of the effects certain regulations have had on firearm-related violence thus far.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Glatt K. Child-to-child unintentional injury and death from firearms in the United States: what can be done? J Pediatr Nurs. 2005;20(6):448–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Morabia A, Costanza MC. Evidence-based gun control. Prev Med. 2012;55(4):261.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Miller M, Azrael D, Hemenway D. Firearm availability and unintentional firearm deaths. Accid Anal Prev. 2001;33:477–84.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Vernick JS, Hodge Jr JG, Webster DW. The ethics of restrictive licensing for handguns—comparing the United States and Canadian approaches to handgun regulation. J Law Med Ethics. 2007;35:668–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Siegel M, Negussie Y, Vanture SP. The relationship between gun ownership and stranger and nonstranger firearm homicide rates in the United States, 1981–2010. Am J Public Health. 2014;104(10):1912–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Hepburn LM, Hemenway D. Firearm availability and homicide: a review of the literature. Aggress Violent Behav. 2004;9(4):417–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Webster DW, Vernick JS, Zeoli AM, Manganello JA. Association between youth-focused firearm laws and youth suicides. JAMA. 2004;292:594–601.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Hahn RA et al. Firearms laws and the reduction of violence: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2005;28(2 Suppl 1):40–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Vernick JS. Carrying guns in public—legal and public health implications. J Law Med Ethics. 2013;41:84–7.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Prickett KC, Martin-Storey A, Crosnoe R. State firearm laws, firearm ownership, and safety practices among families of preschool-aged children. Am J Public Health. 2014;104:1080–6.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. McGinty EE, Webster DW, Barry CL. Gun policy and serious mental illness: priorities for future research and policy. Psychiatr Serv. 2014;65:50–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Fleegler EW, Lee LK, Monuteaux MC, Hemenway D, Mannix R. Firearm legislation and firearm-related fatalities in the United States. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(9):732–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Kellermann AL, Rivara FP. Silencing the science on gun research. JAMA. 2013;309(6):549–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. National Shooting Sports Foundation. Industry intelligence reports. In: National Shooting sports foundation. 2013. p. 1–8.

  15. Vernick JS, Rutkow L, Webster DW, Teret SP. Changing the constitutional landscape for firearms—the US supreme court’s recent second amendment decisions. Am J Public Health. 2011;101:2021–6.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Price M, Norris DM. Firearm laws: a primer for psychiatrists. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2010;18(6):326–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Gjertsen F, Leenaars A, Vollrath ME. Mixed impact of firearms restrictions on fatal firearm injuries in males: a national observational study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014;11(1):487–506.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. McPhedran S, Baker J. Australian firearms legislation and unintentional firearm deaths: a theoretical explanation for the absence of decline following the 1996 gun laws. Public Health. 2008;122(3):297–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Siegel M, Negussie Y, Vanture S, Plekunas J, Ross CS, King 3rd C. The relationship between gun ownership and firearm homicide rates in the United States, 1981–2010. Am J Public Health. 2013;103(11):2098–105.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Webster DW, Vernick JS, Bulzacchelli MT. Effects of state-level firearm seller accountability policies on firearm trafficking. J Urban Health. 2009;86(4):525–37.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Violano P et al. Gun buyback programs: a venue to eliminate unwanted guns in the community. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2014;77(3 Suppl 1):S46–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Sumner SA, Layde PM, Guse CE. Firearm death rates and association with level of firearm purchase background check. Am J Prev Med. 2008;35(1):1–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Sen B, Panjamapirom A. State background checks for gun purchase and firearm deaths: an exploratory study. Prev Med. 2012;55(4):346–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Lee J, Moriarty KP, Tashijian DB, Patterson LA. Guns and states: pediatric firearm injury. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2013;75(1):50–3. discussion 53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Barton BK, Kologi SM. Why do you keep them there? A qualitative assessment of firearms storage practices. J Pediatr Nurs. 2014.

  26. Safavi A et al. Children are safer in states with strict firearm laws: a National Inpatient Sample study. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2014;76(1):146–50. discussion 150–1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chad A. Krueger.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Gunshot Wounds and Blast Injuries

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Krueger, C.A., Mehta, S. Trends in firearm safety—do they correlate with fewer injuries. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 8, 272–275 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-015-9276-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-015-9276-9

Keywords

Navigation