Firearm Legislation and Firearm-Related Fatalities in the United States

Effects of the Repeal of Missouri’s Handgun Purchaser Licensing Law on Homicides

“…9 A recent study found a cross-sectional association between states having PTP handgun licensing or other forms of universal background check requirements for gun sales and lower homicide rates. 10 Missouri repealed its PTP handgun licensing law effective August 28, 2007. Missouri's law had been in place since 1921 and required all handgun purchasers to have a valid PTP license (good for 30 days) in order to lawfully purchase a handgun from any seller, licensed or unlicensed.…”

Firearms research: The gun fighter

“…Last month, on the day after Wintemute spoke to the emergency researchers in San Francisco, the NRA posted a critique slamming a study 7 that reported that states with more firearm laws had lower rates of firearm fatalities.…”

Trends in firearm safety—do they correlate with fewer injuries

“…One is the idea that if more guns lead to more homicides and suicides, then it should be more difficult to [2]. Additionally, supporters of increased regulation may note that there appears to be an inverse relationship between the thoroughness of background checks and the number of homicides that occur in states [2] or that those states that have the most strict gun laws are also the states that have the lowest rate of death caused by firearms [12]. Those who seek less regulation of firearms do not necessarily deny that firearms can be used for malicious acts or are associated with violence.…”