A new study finds that comprehensive background checks aren’t enough to impact homicide numbers. To do that, states also need to adopt licensing laws.
Opponents of gun control like to argue that there’s no point in passing stricter gun laws because criminals will get guns anyway. Just look at Chicago, they say. But a new study finds it’s not that strong state laws don’t work, it’s that weak laws in neighboring states offer criminals a convenient loophole.
Gun Control/Violence
Worth reading: US gun violence, environmental racism, and attempts to rebrand “abstinence only”
Recent pieces address the Parkland shooting and US gun violence in general; what the Trump budget would mean for US pandemic response; a new EPA report demonstrating environmental racism; Trump administration attempts to rebrand “abstinence-only” education; and more.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ answer to the shooting massacre at the Florida high school is to study “mental health and criminality.” Not only is it the wrong topic, it’s just an excuse not to act.
Government
Repost: Gun control laws can impact death rates. It’s time to let public health research lead the way.
Guns are the third leading cause of injury-related death in the country. Every year, more than 12,000 gun homicides happen in the U.S., and for every person killed with a gun, two more are injured. Whether Congress will do anything about this violence is a whole other (depressing) article. But there is evidence that change is possible.
12,000 researchers and advocates have gathered for the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting. Firearms, climate change, and women’s health are on the agenda.
Guns are the third leading cause of injury-related death in the country. Every year, nearly 12,000 gun homicides happen in the U.S., and for every person killed, two more are injured. Whether Congress will do anything about this violence is a whole other (depressing) article. But there is evidence that change is possible.
While The Pump Handle is on holiday break, we are republishing some of our favorite posts from the past year. This one is from January 2016: : In the midst of another national debate over gun safety regulations, some argue that higher rates of gun ownership will protect people from dangerous strangers with deadly intentions. Physician and public health researcher Michael Siegel set out to study that argument. He ultimately found no relationship between gun ownership and stranger-related firearm homicides. But he did find that gun ownership levels translated into higher homicide risks for one group in particular — women.
In 2005, Florida legislators passed the nation’s first “Stand Your Ground” law, expanding legal immunity for residents to use lethal force when they believe they’re being threatened. A decade later, a new study finds that Florida has experienced a significant increase in homicides, while states without such laws have not.
The final day at the APHA annual meeting featured speakers addressing long-acting reversible contraceptives, examining news coverage of health, and connecting farmers’ markets to people receiving food assistance.