A study of 17 nations indicated that an indirect measure of gun availability (the percentages of suicides and homicides involving a gun) was related to the accidental-death rate from guns. These results supported an opportunity theory of accident causation.
One factor that has been proposed as affecting accidental death rates is the availability of a lethal agent in the environment. The present study explores this hypothesis for the case of firearm availability and the accidental death rate from firearms. Data from...
