Firearms Homicide

1. Gun Ownership as a Risk Factor for Homicide in the Home, Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH; Frederick P. Rivara, MD, MPH; et al, The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 329, No. 15, October 7, 1993, pp. 1084-1091.

   Key Statistic: Having a gun in the home makes it nearly three times more likely that you or someone you care about will be murdered by a family member or intimate partner.

   Using data from three U.S. counties, this study examines risk factors for homicide in the home, including: firearms availability; illicit-drug use; alcohol consumption; and, domestic violence.

2. Handgun Regulations, Crime, Assaults, and Homicide: A Tale of Two Cities, John Henry Sloan, MD, MPH; Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH; et al, The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 319, No. 19, November 10, 1988, pp. 1256-1262.

   Key Statistics: Although similar to Seattle, Washington in many ways, Vancouver, British Columbia has adopted a more restrictive approach to the regulation of handguns. In this study, the annual rate of assault was only modestly higher in Seattle than Vancouver, but the rate of assault involving firearms was seven times higher in Seattle. The risk of death from homicide was found to be significantly higher in Seattle than in Vancouver. Virtually all of this excess risk was explained by a nearly five-fold higher risk of being murdered with a handgun in Seattle as compared with Vancouver. Rates of homicide involving means other than guns were not found to be substantially different in the two cities.

   This study examined robberies, burglaries, assaults, and homicides in Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia, from 1980 through 1986 to determine the associations between handgun regulations, assault and other crimes, and homicide. This study found that restrictions on handgun access may reduce the rate of homicide in a community.

3. Trends in Rates of Homicide�United States, 1985-1994, MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), Vol. 45, No. 22, June 7, 1996, pp. 460-464.

   Key Statistics: During 1993, a total of 26,009 homicides were reported in the U.S.�71 percent were firearm-related, and one third of all homicides occurred among persons aged 15 to 24. During 1985 to 1994, the percentage of firearm-related homicides among all homicides in the total population increased from 60 to 72 percent. Among persons aged 15 to 24 years it increased from 67 to 87 percent. These increases illustrate that changes in overall homicide rates primarily reflect changes in firearm-related homicides.

   This study shows that overall rates of homicide increased from 1985 to 1991 and decreased from 1992 to 1994, and that during these two periods, rates for total firearm-related homicides and homicides among persons aged 15 to 24 years increased and then stabilized, but remained at record-high levels.