Adjusting for demographics, counties with the lowest home state/interstate policy scores had 1.38 times the risk of firearm homicides than counties with the highest home state/interstate policy scores. Counties in states with high levels of gun restrictions had the lowest rates of firearm homicide, and lowest rates of homicide overall. Non-firearm suicides were unaffected by the strength of firearm policy. Adjusting for demographics, counties with the lowest home state/interstate policy scores had 1.35 times the risk of firearm suicides than counties with the highest home state/interstate policy scores. Counties in states with high levels of gun restrictions had the lowest rates of firearm suicide and overall suicide, regardless of the strength of policies in neighboring states. California had the strongest gun restrictions, although many of its counties are adjacent to states with more lenient regulations. The map below shows the distribution of state and interstate policy scores by county. They assessed whether counties located closer to states with low policy scores (that is, lenient gun laws) have higher firearm death rates. The authors assigned “policy scores” to individual counties based on the strength of their state’s gun restrictions and their neighboring states’ gun restrictions. Using a spatial statistical model, the authors assessed the relationship between state firearm laws and interstate rates of firearm-related death. Previous research has identified an association between strengthening gun policies and decreasing firearm-related deaths, but there are no rigorous studies of the interstate spillover effects of firearm restrictions. However, firearms can easily move across state lines, which generates challenges for law enforcement. Regulations regarding the sale, movement, and exchange of firearms are primarily drafted and enforced at the state level. Firearms are involved in half of all suicides and two-thirds of all homicides. Restrictions on the sale and ownership of firearms may have measurable effects on rates of firearm deaths, with potential spillover across state lines.įirearms were linked to more than 36,000 deaths in the United States in 2015, including 22,000 suicides. In contrast, rates of gun violence in areas with strong gun laws were unaffected by lenient laws in neighboring states. Counties in states with less restrictive firearms laws had relatively lower rates of firearm-related homicide when they bordered states with strict gun laws. In a cross-sectional analysis of deaths from 2010 through 2014, states with strong gun laws had lower rates of firearm-related homicide and suicide than states with less regulation. JAMA Internal Medicine, published online March 5, 2018
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