The central public policy question — does gun control save lives? — is impossible to answer without solid research. But there has been much less research in the US since 1996 as a result of the gun lobby’s success in denying federal funds for scientific research into gun violence. In spite of the courageous stand […]
Category: Gun violence
The magical land of NRAnia
I may soon have to apologize for the number of blogs related to the gun control issue in the U.S., but its importance cannot be underestimated and just now there seems to be a lot to report. So bear with me. What you will see below was sent by a colleague who prefaced the link […]
Mother Jones to assemble “Craziest anti-Obama Gun Reactions”
The link to the website below will take you into the world of the most extreme (and seemingly wackiest) of the opposition to the measures under consideration to prevent further gun massacres. If they were not so grim they would be truly funny. Actually, I admit I find them scary. This is a sample; not […]
Firearm death in US cities – a global perspective
The Atlantic Cities blog has an interesting analysis of firearm homicide rates in US cities compared to the firearm homicide rate of nations traditionally described as “violent.” Results are presented as a graphic. I was stunned by the observation that “if New Orleans was a country,” it would have the second highest firearm death rate in the world. […]
Gun control lessons from Australia
Editors note: On Jan 16 the following appeared on The New York Times Opinion Page. In my view it is a critically important contribution to the gun control debate. John Howard was a brave politician who defied the odds after the rampage in Tasmania when a deranged person using an assault rifle killed 35 people. […]
What questions about gun violence should new research address?
One of the executive actions taken today by President Obama in response to recent mass shootings was to “direct the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.” This is a major shift away from federal policy of the last 15+ years which has effectively suppressed funding of public health research into firearm injury and […]
Good news and bad news on U.S. attempts to improve gun control
The good news is that FairWarning reports that public support for many reforms is now at its highest level since 2001. Specifically, a new Gallup poll showed that 38% of Americans want stricter gun controls now compared with only 25% last year. The Scientist tells us that 100 American researchers have signed a letter asking […]
More momentum towards gun control
Since the tragic shooting of 20 schoolchildren in Connecticut a short while ago, there has been a flurry of activity in the U.S. that represents an attempt at improving gun control. Some of the developments have been reported in earlier blogs; this one is simply an update so that readers outside the U.S. can appreciate […]
Firearm research mentioned by US Vice President Biden in response to gun violence
Joe Biden has begun to offer an outline of what he will recommend to the US president as a policy response to gun violence. Early indications suggest that recommendations will include universal background checks for gun buyers, closing the “gun show loophole,” and prohibitions on large capacity magazines. Interestingly, the press is also reporting that Biden would like to remedy the de facto […]
More on gun control in the US
Two stories in the Washington Post caught my attention. The first describes Gun Homicides and Gun Ownership by Country and reveals, not surprisingly, that “The United States has the highest gun ownership rate in the world and the highest per capita rate of firearm-related murders of all developed countries.” When ranked by rate of ownership, […]