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Gun Policy Research Publications

The research behind the RAND Gun Policy in America initiative is fully documented in several peer-reviewed research products. These include the methods and results from RAND's comprehensive review of studies examining the effects of gun policies, analysis of the results from a survey of gun policy experts about the likely effects of gun laws, and other publicly available tools and databases.

Mar 10, 2025

Development of the RAND State Firearm Law Database and Supporting Materials

This document presents methods used to construct the RAND State Firearm Law Database, a longitudinal database of state firearm laws, and provides definitions and other information that facilitates its use.
Nov 25, 2024

Household Firearm Ownership and Firearm Mortality

In this cohort study involving 16 demographic subgroups across the U.S., higher household firearm ownership rates (HFRs) preceded increases in firearm suicide rates but were not associated with subsequent changes in firearm homicide rates.
Nov 25, 2024

State Policies Regulating Firearms and Changes in Firearm Mortality

This study, using mortality rates for all US states from 1979-2019, found that the estimated effects of firearm regulations on mortality were often small and uncertain. However, the most restrictive policies were associated with 20% lower mortality.
Jul 16, 2024

The Science of Gun Policy: A Critical Synthesis of Research Evidence on the Effects of Gun Policies in the United States, Fourth Edition

This report, now in its fourth edition, synthesizes the available scientific evidence for the effects of various firearm policies on firearm deaths, violent crime, the gun industry, defensive gun use, and other outcomes.
May 2, 2024

Geographic and Demographic Differences in the Proportion of Individuals Living in Households With a Firearm, 1990-2018

In this survey study, estimates of the proportion of individuals living in households with a firearm (HFR) modeled from household survey responses reveal large state and demographic differences.
Mar 4, 2024

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Effects of State Firearm Laws: A Systematic Review Subgroup Analysis

In this systematic review, we synthesized available evidence on the extent to which firearm policies produce differential effects by race and ethnicity on injury, recreational or defensive gun use, and gun ownership or purchasing behaviors.
Jan 10, 2023

The Science of Gun Policy: A Critical Synthesis of Research Evidence on the Effects of Gun Policies in the United States, Third Edition

This report, now in its third edition, synthesizes the available scientific evidence for the effects of various firearm policies on firearm deaths, violent crime, the gun industry, defensive gun use, and other outcomes.
Jan 10, 2023

Gun Buyback Programs in the United States

Gun buyback programs compensate individuals who turn over firearms to a public agency or private organization. This essay provides an overview of gun buyback programs in the United States and concludes with an exploration of policy considerations.
Nov 4, 2022

State Firearm Laws After Bruen

The Supreme Court's decision in Bruen is a major change to Second Amendment jurisprudence and could lead to significant changes in the U.S. firearm regulations. The authors describe how state regulations will now be evaluated by lower courts.
Sep 8, 2022

Using National Instant Criminal Background Check Data for Gun Policy Analysis: A Discussion of Available Data and Their Limitations

In this tool, researchers provide detailed information about data associated with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and discuss the data's strengths and weaknesses for various gun policy evaluation objectives.
Jul 19, 2022

Geographic Disparities in Rising Rates of Firearm-Related Homicide

Our study shows that the rise since 2014 in firearms homicides is concentrated in south-central and midwestern states, and in American Indian and Alaskan Natives, and Black communities, thereby exacerbating existing disparities.
Jul 11, 2022

Personal Firearm Storage in the United States: Recent Estimates, Patterns, and Effectiveness of Interventions

This report describes what is meant by safe firearm storage, provides estimates of U.S. gun owners' storage practices from representative surveys, and presents research on the effectiveness of interventions to change such practices.
May 31, 2022

Mass Attacks Defense Toolkit

RAND researchers created this tool to advance efforts to prevent and reduce intentional, interpersonal firearm violence and public mass attacks in the United States.
Feb 15, 2022

Suggestions for Estimating the Effects of State Gun Policies: Commentary on Four Methodological Problems in the Current Literature

In this report, the authors discuss four common methodological problems that they observed in the literature evaluating gun policies and offer suggestions for how future research on gun policies could be improved.
Nov 30, 2021

The Magnitude and Sources of Disagreement Among Gun Policy Experts: Second Edition

This report describes combined results from two fieldings of a survey of gun policy experts designed to identify areas of agreement and whether disagreements stem from assumptions about the policies' effects or from differences in policy objectives.
Apr 27, 2021

Inpatient Hospitalizations for Firearm Injury: Estimating State-Level Rates from 2000 to 2016

RAND researchers developed a database of state-level estimates of inpatient hospitalizations for firearm injury. This document describes the methods used to construct the estimates and provides technical documentation to facilitate database use.
Apr 15, 2021

Contemporary Issues in Gun Policy: Essays from the RAND Gun Policy in America Project

This report, part of RAND's Gun Policy in America project, presents essays that synthesize the available scientific data on topics pertinent to firearm policy in the United States, such as mass shootings and firearm and ammunition taxes.
Jun 26, 2020

Changes in Firearm Mortality Following the Implementation of State Laws Regulating Firearm Access and Use

Laws that regulate children's access to firearms, the carrying of a concealed firearm, and the use of a firearm in self-defense, are associated with an 11% decrease in the firearms-related death rate.
Jun 11, 2020

Understanding and Using Research on Gun Policy in America: An Interdisciplinary Unit Plan Based on RAND's Gun Policy in America Website, Suggested Grades 10–12

As part of the Gun Policy in America initiative, RAND researchers developed a unit plan centered on the evidence-based resources on the project website. The unit, designed for grades 10-12, helps students understand existing gun policy research.
Apr 22, 2020

The Science of Gun Policy: A Critical Synthesis of Research Evidence on the Effects of Gun Policies in the United States, Second Edition

This report, the second edition of an earlier work, synthesizes the available scientific evidence for the effects of various firearm policies on firearm deaths, violent crime, the gun industry, defensive gun use, and other outcomes.
Apr 22, 2020

State-Level Estimates of Household Firearm Ownership

As part of the Gun Policy in America initiative, researchers developed annual, state-level estimates of household firearm ownership from 1980 to 2016, which should help further research on the relationship between firearm ownership and key outcomes.
Sep 25, 2019

Scientific Evidence on the Effects of State Gun Laws

Testimony presented before the Pennsylvania State Senate Judiciary Committee on September 25, 2019.
Mar 7, 2019

Reducing Disagreements on Gun Policy Through Scientific Research and an Improved Data Infrastructure

Testimony presented before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies on March 7, 2019.
Mar 2, 2018

The Science of Gun Policy: A Critical Synthesis of Research Evidence on the Effects of Gun Policies in the United States

This report synthesizes the available scientific evidence on the effects of various firearm policies on firearm deaths, violent crime, the gun industry, participation in hunting and sport shooting, and other outcomes.
Mar 2, 2018

The Magnitude and Sources of Disagreement Among Gun Policy Experts

This report, part of RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative, describes results from a survey of gun policy experts to identify where there are shared or divergent beliefs about gun policies and where disagreements concern facts rather than values.
Dec 10, 2018

Evaluating Methods to Estimate the Effect of State Laws on Firearm Deaths: A Simulation Study

As part of the RAND Corporation's Gun Policy in America initiative, the authors use simulations to assess the performance of a wide range of statistical models used to estimate the effects of state gun policies on firearm deaths.
Jul 14, 2016

Evaluating Methods and Findings from a Study of State Gun Policies

A RAND study team reviewed an article on the effects of state firearm laws and found problems in its methods and findings. This report provides an account of the errors detected and statistical support for the study team's conclusions.

Key Findings on Gun Policy in America