By any measure, firearms — especially handguns — are a leading instrument of violent injury. In 1987, firearms accounted for 32,919 fatalities in the United States: 18,144 suicides, 12,665 homicides, and 2110 unintentional fatalities, legal interventions (killings by...
The horrific loss of life at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012 has prompted a national conversation about guns and mental illness in the United States. This tragedy occurred less than 6 months after 70 people were shot in a movie...
Background There continues to be considerable controversy over whether ownership of a handgun increases or decreases the risk of violent death. Methods We conducted a population-based cohort study to compare mortality among 238,292 persons who purchased a handgun in...
Background It has been suggested that limiting access to firearms could prevent many suicides, but this belief is controversial. To assess the strength of the association between the availability of firearms and suicide, we studied all suicides that took place in the...
Background It is unknown whether keeping a firearm in the home confers protection against crime or, instead, increases the risk of violent crime in the home. To study risk factors for homicide in the home, we identified homicides occurring in the homes of victims in...