Research

Gun Violence Archive

The Trace, The Numbers on Arming College Students Show Risks Outweigh Benefits
Well researched article with links to supporting research.

Scientific American, The Science of Guns Proves Arming Untrained Citizens Is a Bad Idea
National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre believes says: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” If LaPierre means professionally trained police and military who routinely practice shooting at ranges, this observation would at least be partially true. If he means armed private citizens with little to no training, he could not be more wrong..

Social Science Research Network, The Impact of Right to Carry Laws and the NRC Report: The Latest Lessons for the Empirical Evaluation of Law and Policy
In 2004, the National Research Council (NRC) offered a critical evaluation of the “More Guns, Less Crime” hypothesis , concluding that the existing research was inadequate to conclude that RTC laws increased or decreased crime. This article examines the NRC evidence and finds that  in addition to aggravated assault, the most plausible state models provide evidence that RTC laws increase rape and robbery.

Journal of the American Medical Association,  Firearm Legislation and Firearm-Related Fatalities in the United States

 Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center, Right-to-carry laws: Revisiting the link between guns and violent crime

— A 2014 meta-analysis in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that people who have access to firearms at home are twice as likely to die in gun-related homicides and more than three times as likely to commit suicide than those without such access.

— A 2014 study for the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found right-to-carry laws were found to be associated with higher rates of murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, auto theft,  burglary and larceny.

PBS Frontline, Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA
Frontline documentary on the NRA.

Violence Policy Center: Concealed Carry Killers

This site tracks murders committed by Texas Concealed Handgun License holders.  Some of the many stories:

— Texas concealed handgun permit holder Tan Do, 35, opened fire at his son’s 11th birthday party being held at the Forum Roller World in Grand Prairie, Texas, killing the boy’s mother and four members of her family before taking his own life

— Texas concealed handgun permit holder Raul Rodriguez, 47, shot and killed elementary school teacher Kelly Danaher, 36.

— Texas concealed handgun permit holder Dennis Roy Redding, 63, shot and killed Dr. Mark K. Holcomb, 61, following an argument at the oral surgeon’s weekend home in Houston.

Science Blogs: Concealed handguns study takes a different approach to measuring risk

A study comparing crimes committed by Texas Concealed Handgun License holders and non-holders found that:

— The most common criminal convictions among non-license holders were simple assaults, robberies and burglaries.

— When compared with non-license holders, a higher proportion of license-holder convictions were for sexual offenses, weapons offenses, deadly conduct and offenses involving the intentional killing of a person.

The conclusion: Weapons offenses may be more likely among those with a license precisely because they’re more likely to have a gun with them.

Vox: What no politician wants to admit about gun control
Embedded links to peer-reviewed  research about the effect of removing guns from circulation.

American Journal of Public HealthWhen Concealed Handgun Licensees Break Bad: Criminal Convictions of Concealed Handgun Licensees in Texas, 2001–2009

Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Firearms Research

Books
Suicide
Homicide followed by Suicide
Accidents
Women
Guns at College
Gun Threats and Self-Defense Gun Use
Policy Evaluation
Public Opinion
Complete subject listing