NCJ Number
209529
Journal
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume: 28 Issue: 2S1 Dated: February 2005 Pages: 40-71
Date Published
February 2005
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This article presents findings from a systematic review regarding the effectiveness of firearms laws in preventing violence conducted by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services.
Abstract
Even though the rates of firearms-related injuries in the United States have declined since 1993, they remained the second leading cause of injury mortality for the most recent year of available data, 2001. This article presents findings from a review which examined firearms laws as one of many potential approaches to the reduction of firearm-related violence. The review assessed the effects of selected Federal and State laws on violence-related public health outcomes, including death and injury resulting from violent crimes, suicide, and unintentional incidents. In addition, effects on other outcomes were noted. This review is different from previous reviews, in that it reviews selected laws and is based on systematic epidemiologic evaluations and synthesizes all literature meeting specified criteria. Results are presented in two parts: intervention effectiveness and research issues for firearms laws. Based on identified studies reviewed in this report, the evidence is insufficient to determine whether the United States firearms laws affect violence. It is concluded that evidence for the effectiveness of a given firearms law on an outcome is insufficient. It is not implied that the law has no effect; rather, it is not yet known what effect, if any, the law has on that outcome. Additional research is recommended on how laws might affect firearm-related injury and death in the United States. References and appendix A-A1