Gun-Related Deaths: How Australia Stepped Off “The American Path”

Chapman, Simon; Alpers, Philip

doi:10.7326/0003-4819-158-10-201305210-00624

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Thus, there are fewer homicide incidents that the media have at their disposal to report on. Second, the rate of gun ownership in the US is significantly higher than in Australia (Chapman & Alpers 2013) and research confirms cross-national variations in the nature of homicide (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2011), which could explain why there are inconsistencies between the current study and previous studies conducted in the US. Alternatively, the different findings from international research could be a function of the sample.…”

Section: Accurate Depictions Of Homicidesupporting

confidence: 67%

Examining the Accuracy of Print Media Representations of Homicide in Australia

Waters

Bond

Eriksson

2017

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

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Lethal violence is particularly 'newsworthy', and international research suggests that media representations of homicides provide a distorted depiction of the actual nature and risk of homicides. Understanding media portrayals of homicide is important given the impact crime reporting may have on public opinion and policymaking. However, much of the past research has been conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom. Using a sample of Australian newspaper articles published between

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Section: Accurate Depictions Of Homicidesupporting

confidence: 67%

Examining the Accuracy of Print Media Representations of Homicide in Australia

Waters

Bond

Eriksson

2017

Current Issues in Criminal Justice

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“…The upstream public health approach has proven successful around the world (37–40) and supports public health’s interest in health-in-all-policies (41). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Media Agenda Setting Regarding Gun Violence before and after a Mass Shooting

Jashinsky

Magnusson

Hanson

et al. 2017

Front. Public Health

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Gun violence is related to substantial morbidity and mortality with surrounding discussions framed and shaped by the media. This study’s objective was to explore national news media’s reporting of gun violence around a mass shooting. National news pieces were coded according to categories of gun violence, media frames, entities held responsible, responses, and reporting of the public heath approach. Individuals were held responsible for gun violence in 63% of pieces before and 32% after the shooting. Lawmakers were held responsible in 30% of pieces before and 66% after. Background checks were a proposed gun violence prevention method in 18% of pieces before and 55% after Sandy Hook, and lethality reduction of firearms was in 9% before and 57% after. Following a mass shooting, the media tended to hold government, not individuals, primarily responsible. The media often misrepresented the real picture of gun violence and key public health roles.

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“… 3 4 14 Australia adopted a panel of strict gun laws in 1996 after a mass shooting. 15 16 As a result, the case fatality rate is now 134 times smaller than in the USA despite only a 13.7-fold population difference. 15 16 Likewise, firearm-related homicide is 27 times higher in the USA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Callcut

Robles

Mell³

2018

Trauma Surg Acute Care Open

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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.

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Gun-Related Deaths: How Australia Stepped Off “The American Path”

Cited by 10 publications

References 7 publications

Examining the Accuracy of Print Media Representations of Homicide in Australia

Examining the Accuracy of Print Media Representations of Homicide in Australia

Media Agenda Setting Regarding Gun Violence before and after a Mass Shooting

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

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