Denial of Handgun Purchase: A Description of the Affected Population and a Controlled Study of Their Handgun Preferences

• NCJ Number: 177510
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: January-February 1999 Pages: 21-31
• Author(s): G J Wintemute; M A Wright; C A Parham; C M Drake; J J Beaumont
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 11 pages
• Grant Number(s): R49/CCR903549; 97-149
• Sponsoring Agency: Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); California Wellness Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Data from all 3,589 persons whose handgun purchases were denied in California in 1991 were compared with data from a random sample of 7,197 persons whose handgun purchases were approved in the same period to determine the handgun preferences of the two groups.

Abstract

The California Department of Justice provided the data for the study. Among the denials, 91.3 percent resulted from prior criminal activity; 2,014 (56.1 percent) of these persons had been convicted of a violent crime. In addition, fewer than 1 percent of all federally licensed firearms dealers in the State were involved in more than half of all instances of the denial of handgun purchases. Persons denied the right to purchase a handgun as a result of prior criminal activity were more likely to select handguns with barrel lengths of 3 inches of less than were the general population of handgun purchasers. In addition, they were nearly twice as likely than the general population of handgun purchasers to select small, inexpensive handguns. The denial of legal handgun purchases may produce lower-than-expected rates of subsequent criminal activities among those whose purchases are denied; further research is recommended to maximize the effectiveness of the policy of the denial of firearm purchases. Tables, figures, and 44 references (Author abstract modified)