American Journal of Public Health, Ahead of Print.
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The overlooked role of the home in mass shooting fatalities
Prevention efforts for mass shooting fatalities often focus on public events, overlooking where most fatalities occur. This study analyzes a comprehensive database to better inform prevention strategies.
Safe storage practices among owners in rural and urban households
Safe firearm storage may reduce suicide and unintentional firearm injuries. However, little is known about safe storage practices in rural US populations. We aimed to examine the association between living in …
Safe storage practices among firearm owners
Safe firearm storage may reduce suicide and unintentional firearm injuries. However, little is known about safe storage practices in rural US populations. We aimed to examine the association between living in …
Suicidal ideation and attempt prevalence in the U.S. veterans
Veteran suicide remains a major public health concern; rates increased 64.3% from 2001 to 2022 and substantial geospatial variation exists, with state-level rates ranging from 15.4/100,000 (Maryland) to 87.1/1…
Extreme risk protection order use in six US states
Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) are civil court orders that temporarily prohibit firearm purchase and possession by someone (“respondent”) at imminent risk of harming themselves or others. Despite ERPOs…
Mental health and Suicide risk in Adults with Opioid Use Disorder
Publication date: Available online 2 June 2025
Source: Social Science & Medicine
Author(s): Hannah S. Szlyk, Daphne Lew, Xiao Li, Lindsey M. Filiatreau, JaNiene Peoples, Erin Kasson, Patricia Cavazos-Rehg
Why do right to carry laws increase violence?
Publication date: May 2025
Source: Journal of Urban Economics, Volume 147
Author(s): John J. Donohue, Samuel V. Cai, Matthew V. Bondy, Philip J. Cook
Unintentional firearm deaths among children 0–17 yrs old, by race
Unintentional firearm death (UFD) rates are higher among Black children than among White and Hispanic children. Whether disparities in UFD rates among Black as compared to White and Hispanic children vary by o…
Firearm ownership for protection in the USA, 2023
Objective
This study aims to characterise the motivations of firearm owners and examine whether firearm ownership motivations and carriage varied by state stand your ground law status.
Methods
Using a nationally representative survey of US adults in 2023, we asked firearm owners (n=2477) about their firearm motivations and behaviours, including reason(s) for ownership.
Results
Of all firearm owners, 78.8% (95% CI 76.0% to 81.0%) owned a firearm for protection, and 58.1% (95% CI 54.3% to 62.0%) carried a firearm outside their home in the last 12 months. Firearm ownership for protection was not significantly associated with stand your ground laws, but firearm carriage was more prevalent in states with stand your ground laws (50.1% (95% CI 47.0% to 53.0%) vs 34.9% (95% CI 25.0% to 46.0%)). Gender (women) and race (minority groups) emerged as key correlates for firearm ownership for protection (vs other ownership motivations). For example, black and Asian women (98.8%) almost exclusively owned firearms for protection.
Conclusions
Protection was the dominant reason for firearm ownership in 2023, motivating 65 million Americans to own firearms and appealing to different strata of the population.