NCJ Number
159325
Date Published
1994
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Following an overview of the prevalence of firearm injuries and deaths in the United States, this report recommends policies for addressing this problem.
Abstract
Although firearm-related death rates for women, teenage boys, and young adults are higher now than at any other time in U.S. history, the United States has never tried a comprehensive approach to preventing firearm injuries. Such a strategy should make it more difficult for people who should not have guns to get them. Under existing Federal law, access to firearms and ammunition in the United States is largely unregulated. Effective firearm control should limit production of certain new firearms and ammunition, especially the most dangerous weapons. In addition to bans on the new production of assault weapons, consideration should be given to placing higher taxes on handguns, which are the weapon of choice among criminals, accounting for approximately 80 percent of all firearms homicides. Other recommendations address the regulation of how firearms are stored, carried, and used; reduction in the lethality of firearms; support for research to develop a sound scientific basis for preventing firearm injuries; and a reframing of the public debate on firearms.