Iwama Janice, McDevitt Jack
Department of Justice, Law and Criminology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Kerwin Hall, Room 257, Washington, DC, 20016, USA.
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Churchill Hall, Room 400, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
J Prim Prev. 2021 Feb;42(1):27-42. doi: 10.1007/s10935-021-00622-7. Epub 2021 Feb 2.
Although gun control laws are intended to reduce exposure to gun violence in communities across the country, the passage of gun control laws is often linked to a substantial rise in the number of guns sold in the U.S. National polls indicate that most individuals purchase firearms for protection, but some cite the fear of gun-buying restrictions as the main reason for purchasing a gun. It is unclear what impact gun legislation has on patterns of gun sales, as mass shootings continue to bring the U.S. gun debate to the forefront. Using statewide data on gun transactions in Massachusetts from 2006 to 2016, we examined patterns in gun sales following the passage of gun legislation and high profile mass shootings. Specifically, we used three events to test and refine the argument during this time period: (1) the Newtown shooting, (2) the San Bernardino shooting, and (3) the passage of the 2014 Massachusetts Gun Violence Reduction Act. Results from these time-series analyses indicated different patterns in handgun sales, with significantly larger increases occurring among first-time handgun buyers. Our findings complement prior work explaining the impact of mass shootings and gun control laws on the exposure to guns in communities.
尽管枪支管制法律旨在减少美国各地社区遭受枪支暴力的风险，但枪支管制法律的通过往往与美国枪支销售量的大幅上升有关。全国民意调查显示，大多数人购买枪支是为了自我保护，但也有人指出，担心购枪限制是购买枪支的主要原因。由于大规模枪击事件不断将美国的枪支辩论推到风口浪尖，目前尚不清楚枪支立法对枪支销售模式有何影响。利用2006年至2016年马萨诸塞州全州的枪支交易数据，我们研究了枪支立法通过和引人注目的大规模枪击事件后枪支销售的模式。具体而言，我们利用三个事件在此期间对这一论点进行了检验和完善：（1）纽敦枪击案，（2）圣贝纳迪诺枪击案，以及（3）2014年马萨诸塞州《减少枪支暴力法案》的通过。这些时间序列分析的结果表明手枪销售呈现出不同的模式，首次购买手枪者的销售量显著增加。我们的研究结果补充了先前关于大规模枪击事件和枪支管制法律对社区枪支暴露影响的研究。
