Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, 1800 Orleans St, Baltimore, MD 21287, United States.
Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States.
Prev Med. 2020 Dec;141:106281. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106281. Epub 2020 Oct 7.
Firearms are a leading cause of death and injury in the United States, and this trend has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to identify whether states designated gun retailers as essential businesses in their stay-at-home orders and characterize other references that could affect firearm acquisition during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this cross-sectional policy review, we assessed stay-at-home orders issued in March or April 2020. Orders were reviewed in their entirety, and any reference to firearms, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, or other relevant elements was documented. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia issued stay-at-home orders. Most considered federal firearm licensees to be among essential businesses or made provisions for them to remain open during widespread business closures. Others referenced the US Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) advisory memorandum on essential critical infrastructure workers which named workers supporting firearm manufacturing and retail among essential workers. Therefore, stay-at-home orders issued in most states included provisions for firearms retailers to remain open, at least in some capacity. Only four states and the District of Columbia did not include federal firearms licensees among essential businesses or include provisions for them to be open. Meanwhile, an all-time high in firearm background checks indicates firearm sales have markedly increased. Given the associations between firearm access and injury risk, the effects of continued firearm access facilitated by these orders should be the focus of future research.
枪支是美国导致死亡和受伤的主要原因，这一趋势在 COVID-19 大流行期间仍在持续。我们试图确定在居家令中各州是否将枪支零售商指定为基本业务，并描述在 COVID-19 大流行期间可能影响枪支购买的其他因素。在这项横断面政策审查中，我们评估了 2020 年 3 月或 4 月发布的居家令。对命令进行了全面审查，并记录了任何与枪支、枪支零售商、射击场或其他相关要素有关的参考内容。43 个州和哥伦比亚特区发布了居家令。大多数州将联邦枪支许可证持有者视为基本业务之一，或为他们在广泛的企业关闭期间保持营业做出了规定。其他州则提到了美国国土安全部网络安全和基础设施安全局（CISA）关于基本关键基础设施工人的咨询备忘录，该备忘录将支持枪支制造和零售的工人列为基本工人。因此，大多数州的居家令都规定枪支零售商至少在某些情况下保持营业。只有四个州和哥伦比亚特区没有将联邦枪支许可证持有者列为基本业务之一，也没有规定他们必须营业。与此同时，枪支背景调查的历史新高表明枪支销售明显增加。鉴于获得枪支与受伤风险之间的关联，这些命令促成的持续获得枪支的影响应该成为未来研究的重点。
