Banning open carry of unloaded handguns decreases firearm-related fatalities and hospital utilization

Abstract

BackgroundSince 1967, in California it has been illegal to openly carry a loaded firearm in public except when engaged in hunting or law enforcement. However, beginning January 1, 2012, public open carry of unloaded handguns also became illegal. Fatal and non-fatal (NF) firearm injuries were examined before and after adoption of the 2012 ban to quantify the effect of the new law on public health.MethodsState-level data were obtained directly from California and nine other US state inpatient and emergency department (ED) discharge databases, and the Centers for Disease Control Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. Case numbers of firearm fatalities, NF hospitalizations, NF ED visits, and state-level population estimates were extracted. Each incident was classified as unintentional, self-inflicted, or assault. Crude incidence rates were calculated. The strength of gun laws was quantified using the Brady grade. There were no changes to open carry in these nine states during the study. Using a difference-in-difference technique, the rate trends 3 years preban and postban were compared.ResultsThe 2012 open carry ban resulted in a significantly lower incident rate of both firearm-related fatalities and NF hospitalizations (p<0.001). The effect of the law remained significant when controlling for baseline state gun laws (p<0.001). Firearm incident rate drops in California were significant for male homicide (p=0.023), hospitalization for NF assault (p=0.021 male; p=0.025 female), and ED NF assault visits (p=0.04). No significant decreases were observed by sex for suicides or unintentional injury. Changing the law saved an estimated 337 lives (3.6% fewer deaths) and 1285 NF visits in California during the postban period.DiscussionOpen carry ban decreases fatalities and healthcare utilization even in a state with baseline strict gun laws. The most significant impact is from decreasing firearm-related fatal and NF assaults.Level of evidenceIII, epidemiology.

Association of state-level factors with rate of firearm-related deaths

“…The cumulative results would suggest that, when taking into account other significant associations such as socioeconomic factors, open carry legality is not directly associated with the firearm death rate. That said, one study did link the banning the open carry of unloaded handguns to decreased fatality rates [ 36 ].…”

“…Callcut et al found banning open carry of unloaded handguns in California (where open carry of loaded guns is already illegal) to a decreased death rate [ 36 ]. Their finding, though, was based on a change in the law in a single state, which does limit the generalizability.…”

State firearm laws and nonfatal firearm injury-related inpatient hospitalizations: A nationwide panel study

“…There is limited information, however, regarding the impact of these laws on nonfatal firearm injury. To our knowledge, only one published study examines the impact of state firearm laws on nonfatal firearm-related injuries 11 . That study examined the effects of a single law (open carry of handguns) in a single state (California) 11 .…”

“…11 That study examined the effects of a single law (open carry of handguns) in a single state (California). 11 Almost uniformly, however, broad studies of the effects of changes in state firearm laws have been performed in the context of fatalities alone. Since the majority of firearm injuries are nonfatal, 1 this greatly limits our understanding of the implications of firearm-related policy.…”

“…To our knowledge, only one published study examines the impact of state firearm laws on nonfatal firearm-related injuries 11 . That study examined the effects of a single law (open carry of handguns) in a single state (California) 11 . Almost uniformly, however, broad studies of the effects of changes in state firearm laws have been performed in the context of fatalities alone.…”