Gun Violence Research Articles

Gun Laws and Gun Deaths: An Empirical Analysis and Theological Assessment

The current state of gun violence in the United States involves an uneven distribution of firearms’ lethal violence that undermines the common good by creating intolerable risks of gun death for certain communities and certain people. Building on Catholic commitments to the dignity of every human life and the importance of solidarity as a counterbalance to structural sin, this article explains how Catholics can respond to this problematic status quo in a fashion that aligns with their faith convictions. The article draws on empirical data about the correlations between firearm availability and firearm mortality rates both internationally and within the United States to lay the foundation for a more nuanced evaluation of gun control laws, consistent with the expectation that Catholics will engage political life thoughtfully and with prudential judgment.

Geospatial Analysis of Social Vulnerability, Race, and Firearm Violence in Chicago

IntroductionUrban firearm violence (UFV) is associated with inequities rooted in structural racism and socioeconomic disparities. Social vulnerability index (SVI) is a composite measure that encompasses both. We sought to understand the relationship between SVI and the incidence of UFV in Chicago using geospatial analysis for the first time. Materials and methodsFirearm assaults in Chicago 2001-2019 were obtained from the Trace. Locations of incidents were geocoded using ArcGIS and overlaid with census tract vector files. These data were linked to 2018 SVI measures obtained from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Shooting rates were calculated by tabulating the total number of shootings per capita in each census tract. We used Poisson regression with robust error variance to estimate the incident rate of UFV in different levels of social vulnerability and Local Moran's I to evaluate spatial autocorrelation. ResultsIn total, 642 census tracts were analyzed. The median shooting rate was 2.6 per 1000 people (interquartile 0.77, 7.0). When compared to those census tracts with very low SVI, census tracts with low SVI had a 1.7-time increased incident rate of shootings (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.74, 95% CI 1.08, 2.81), tracts with moderate SVI had a 3.1-time increased incident rate (IRR 3.07, 95% CI 2.31, 4.10), and tracts with high SVI had a 7-time increased incident rate (IRR 7.03, 95% CI 5.45, 9.07). ConclusionsIn Chicago, social vulnerability has a significant association with rates of firearm violence, providing a focus point for policy intervention to address high rates of interpersonal violence in similar cities.

Law Enforcement Officer Knowledge of, Attitudes Toward, and Willingness to Use Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Understanding knowledge of, attitudes toward, and willingness to use extreme risk protection order (ERPO) laws among law enforcement officers (LEOs) can inform efforts to improve implementation of this underused firearm violence prevention strategy. To characterize LEOs' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and willingness to use ERPOs across a range of scenarios. A cross-sectional online survey, fielded from April 5 to August 30, 2021, was conducted in all 19 states and the District of Columbia with an ERPO law in 2021. A nonprobability sample of active-duty LEOs was used. Being a LEO in a state with an ERPO law. Survey participants answered questions about their familiarity with and opinions on ERPO laws, as well as whether they would agree with using an ERPO in a variety of specific case scenarios. The analysis included an exploration of whether within-scenario differences, such as ERPO respondent race or gender, affected agreement by randomly assigning survey participants to 1 of 2 versions of each scenario. A total of 600 eligible individuals started the survey, and 283 survey participants were included in the analysis. The analytic sample consisted mostly of cisgender men (85.2%) and non-Hispanic White (71.4%) LEOs. Participants represented 14 states and the District of Columbia, with 53.7% living in California. Most participants (81.3%) were very or somewhat familiar with ERPO laws and 56.2% had received ERPO training. Opinions about ERPO laws were generally favorable but varied by self-identified political ideology. Across all scenarios, most participants supported using an ERPO; however, support was highest in cases involving intimate partner violence (71.4%-78.6%) and lowest in cases involving suicidality (54.2%-73.3%). Across all scenarios, LEOs with ERPO training or experience were substantially more likely to agree with using ERPOs than those without. None of the randomly assigned within-scenario differences were associated with differences in ERPO support. In this survey study of LEOs in states with ERPO laws, many officers had not received training on their use. Additionally, while conservative political ideology was associated with less favorable views of ERPOs, training and experience with ERPOs was associated with greater support for their use across a range of scenarios. These findings suggest that LEO training on ERPOs may promote their uptake and improve implementation.

Helping teenagers talk about guns and gun violence

I recently had the opportunity to listen to teenagers talk about guns and gun violence when they attended a summer church camp. Two separate groups; one entering grade 7, 8, and 9 and one entering grade 10, 11, and 12 were asked to share their understandings, feelings, and opinions about guns in a small group setting. Relevant books, articles, and other media were reviewed as part of my preparation for this time. Ground rules were established prior to the conversations, including safety and confidentiality concerns. Each group was asked essentially the same two sets of questions, one related to their school life and one related to their home life. The shared stories generally confirmed the range of understandings, feelings, and opinions anticipated, and provided anecdotal evidence that teenagers today are faced with guns and gun violence as part of their daily lived realities, regardless of their individual, specific demographics. Only limited suggestions were offered to help teenagers cope with their realities. More importantly, this exercise gave the teenagers permission to voice their own thoughts and can serve as a model for future conversations among teenagers.

Reciprocal Neighborhood Dynamics in Gun Violence Exposure, Community Health, and Concentrated Disadvantage in One Hundred US Cities

Gun violence imparts a tremendous human and financial toll on local communities. Researchers have documented extensive mental and physical health consequences of generalized violence exposure but few studies have analyzed the particular impacts of gun violence on community well-being using nationally comprehensive data. We leverage a unique database of almost 16,000 neighborhoods in 100 US cities (2014–2019) to examine how year-over-year rates of gun violence correspond to overall neighborhood well-being and three aspects of community health: (1) health behaviors, (2) physical and mental health status, and (3) health prevention efforts. We simultaneously consider the reciprocal influence of neighborhood well-being on subsequent gun violence while accounting for concentrated disadvantage in communities. The results demonstrate that gun violence is associated with poorer community health in subsequent years, particularly health behaviors and mental/physical health status. Furthermore, we find substantial reciprocal effects for both gun violence and community health in their relationship to neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. These findings highlight the consequential role of gun violence in perpetuating cycles of harm in local communities.

Firearm Violence as a Public Health Crisis: A Call to Action for Physical Therapists.

Firearm Violence as a Public Health Crisis: A Call to Action for Physical Therapists.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

The new TIME magazine cover story, “Growing Up is Harder Than Ever. Young Americans on How They See Themselves,” examines the unique stress of growing up right now and how young Americans are coping (Oct. 23 issue; on sale Oct. 13). The story features photographs and interviews of dozens of teenagers about their mental health. In his letter to readers, TIME Editor‐in‐Chief Sam Jacobs wrote: “In this issue, we also explore the youth mental health crisis through a project that brought photographer Robin Hammond to meet 48 kids, aged 11‐17, living across the United States. The data on the state of U.S. children and mental health is stark … these kids and teenagers, including two who are featured on accompanying covers, talked to Hammond about their experiences with gun violence, bullying, social media, gender identity, and more.” Here's what Malayha, 14, from Georgia, had to say: “Adults shouldn't disregard our feelings because we go through things as well. [They don't] get to minimize our problems.” The cover story was written by TIME author Jamie Ducharme.

Finnish and Swedish ‘gangsta rap’ as a window on the dismantlement of the Nordic welfare state

Sweden, often cited as an exemplary welfare state, has experienced a significant increase in gang-related gun violence in recent years. In parallel, Finland debates the growing problem of youth violence and street gangs. The media discourse surrounding these issues often focuses on ‘gangsta rap’ and certain artists within the genre. Despite rap music’s popularity and expression of underprivileged and racialised youth globally, it has earlier been subject to policing and criminalisation, now introduced in the Nordic countries. Using Finnish and Swedish media discourse and rap lyrics and videos as data, this article contributes to prior understanding by 1) linking narratives of ‘gangsta rap’ to the dismantling of the Nordic welfare state, 2) highlighting the racist targeting of ethnic minorities through the public discussions of rappers and 3) discussing similarities and differences between Sweden and Finland, adding nuance to understanding how rap and its criminalisation vary across countries.

Quasi-experimental study finding no localised gun crime or call reduction after gun buybacks in Philadelphia

IntroductionGun buyback programmes have been popular in the USA since the 1970s. Studies show that they have no effect on citywide gun crime rates, but more microlevel examinations around gun...

Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Continue to Bear the Burden of Gun Violence

IntroductionGun violence is a pervasive and dynamic public health crisis causing substantial burden on communities and healthcare systems in the United States. Risk factor and outcome analyses are crucial to develop effective interventions. The aim of this study was to assess firearm injury in a diverse community setting as it relates to neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and changes over time following large-scale local interventions. MethodsAll county residents with firearm injury presenting to a Level 1 Trauma Center from January 2012 to December 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Area Deprivation Index (ADI) was used to measure neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage based on a nine-digit zip code at patients’ home address. Injuries were also stratified by 5-year time periods, 2012-2016 and 2017-2021. Demographics and clinical data were analyzed including injury severity, hospital course, and discharge location. Data were compared by ADI quintile and between time periods using chi-squared, one-way analysis of variance, and Cochran-Armitage test. ResultsA total of 1044 injuries were evaluated. Patients were 93% male with mean age of 29 y (standard deviation 10.2) and were concentrated in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods (74% ADI Q5). Black or African American race was greater in the most disadvantaged ADI groups (76% versus 47%-66%; P <0.001). Percentage of total injuries in the most disadvantaged ADI group rose from 71% to 78% over time (P = 0.006). Mortality occurred in 154 (15%) patients overall, while most (71%) were discharged to home. Mortality declined from 18% to 11% over time (P <0.001). Medicaid utilization rose from 42% to 77% alongside a decrease in self-pay status from 44% to 4% (P <0.001). There were no clinically significant group differences in injury severity or clinical characteristics. ConclusionsFirearm injury remains concentrated in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and this disparity is increasing over time. Medicaid utilization rose and mortality decreased in this population over time. This research presents a method to inform and monitor local gun violence interventions using ADI to address public health equity.

“Please don't let me become a statistic in this grocery store”: Civic engagement among older Americans since the COVID-19 pandemic onset

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted civic life and upended daily routines. Coffee shops, restaurants, recreation centers, parks, and other ‘third places’ that facilitate communal gathering, interpersonal connection, and meaningful activity closed or operated under tight restrictions. Little is known about longer-term impacts on older adults' civic life since the pandemic's onset. The COVID-19 Coping Study conducted semi-structured interviews in April–July 2021 with 57 adults aged ≥55 across the United States (mean age 71). Reflexive thematic analysis identified heightened sociopolitical tensions and complex community experiences since the pandemic's onset. Participants shared nuanced perceptions of greater physical and emotional distancing, siloed communities, politicized public health adherence, fears of gun violence, and experiences of racial discrimination in shared spaces. Hopeful efforts to re-engage in civic life involved cautious social activities post-vaccination, altered daily routines, and finding a “new normal.” The novel results explore how a large sample of racially and socioeconomically diverse older adults perceive and experience American sociopolitical tensions anchored in shared everyday spaces. Results may inform practical opportunities for policymakers and community service providers to strengthen social infrastructure, support wellbeing, and bolster civic life.

"We been dying, and you got me on a call helping you stay alive": Black and Latinx youth organizers' experiences of racism in gun violence prevention organizations.

This study explored Black and Latinx youth organizers' experiences of racism within national gun violence prevention organizing spaces. Interview data were analyzed from 17 Black and/or Latinx youth (Mage = 20.17, 47% women) across the United States who organized against gun violence. The findings identified three forms of racism that Black and Latinx organizers experienced in national organizations: (1) being tokenized for their racial identities and experiences without having real decision making power; (2) feeling a burden to educate their white peers about the structural causes of gun violence and how to improve organizing spaces for other youth of color; and (3) being silenced in their racially conscious organizing efforts to address the structural causes of gun violence in their communities. This research highlights how Black and Latinx youth gun violence prevention organizers contend both with structural racism in their everyday lives and racism in organizing spaces.

Remembering the Queer Exiles of San Domino: In Italia sono tutti maschi (2008) and The Red Tree (2018)

ABSTRACT Homosexuality was both silenced and persecuted during Mussolini’s regime. The multifaceted silencing of homosexuality has contributed to the ongoing difficulty of gathering and preserving testimonies which remember this persecution. This article explores two contemporary semi-fictional testimonial works which grapple with this silencing and remember queer people in Fascist Italy: the graphic novel In Italia sono tutti maschi by Luca de Santis and Sara Colaone (2008), and the short film The Red Tree (2018) by Paul Rowley and De Santis. These works rely on elements of survivors’ testimonies but simultaneously refer to cross-cultural and trans-historical events, including the AIDS crisis and gun violence. Spurred by queer and anti-canonical methodologies, I tease out the layers of memory that these works bring forth. Whilst they may draw criticism for their ‘relativisation’ of the Holocaust, these works implicate the twenty-first-century reader in remembrance.

“Where were you shot?”: analyzing location rhetoric as strategic maneuvering in contemporary gun-control discourse

This essay analyzes contemporary American gun rhetoric with particular attention to location. Funded by a pragma-dialectic perspective, I examine conservative and progressive attempts to situate the national discussion about firearms and gun control legislation in urban locations (especially Chicago) and in suburbs (especially schoolhouses), respectively. I demonstrate that these location rhetorics function as strategic maneuvering, enabling both sets of discussants to move the conversation to issue sets that favor them and make their policy preferences seem more reasonable, even as they often prevent the public from responding to the bulk of actual gun violence. To begin, I develop a perspective on public argument based on pragma-dialectic argumentation theory. Next, I attend to conservative rhetoric that publicizes gun violence in large urban population centers, especially Chicago. Then, I turn to liberal gun rhetoric that centers attention on leafy suburbs where mass shootings often occur. In the final portion of this paper, I argue that both strategies disadvantage the public and forestall meaningful improvement on this important issue.

Integrating trauma-informed services in out-of-school time programs to mitigate the impact of community gun violence on youth mental health

Community gun violence disproportionately impacts youth in low-income urban neighborhoods. Integrating trauma-informed mental health care in community-based out-of-school time (OST) programs is an innovative method of service delivery for these youth. This article provides justification for integrating evidence-based, trauma-informed services in OST programs within communities characterized by high rates of violent crime to minimize the impact of violence exposure on youth mental health. We describe the initial feasibility of a model program, the Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Initiative, implemented in a small city in southeastern Pennsylvania. Within the first six months of the VIP Initiative, 95 community residents (90% under age 18; 51% Hispanic) received intervention services, primarily through single-session and short-term weekly group intervention in OST programs, and 80% of OST youth development staff participated in at least one trauma-informed professional development training. Recommendations to enhance and expand the delivery of trauma-informed services in the novel setting of OST programs are provided.

A Wireless Gunshot Recognition System Based on Tri-Axis Accelerometer and Lightweight Deep Learning

Gun violence and misuse pose great threat to the public safety. Real time monitoring of guns usage and gunshot events are very promising for effective gun control. However, most available monitoring systems are installed in fixed location instead of the guns, which greatly limits the flexibility and coverage. In this study, we propose a wireless gun monitoring and gunshot recognition system based on a low-cost triaxial acceleration sensor, which can monitor the gun in real time and accurately recognize gunshot events. Addressing the limited resources of the embedded systems, we further propose an efficient gunshot recognition algorithm EfficientNetTime that combines the lightweight neural network and knowledge distillation, so as to enable the deployment on embedded devices. Firstly, a novel lightweight deep learning model is proposed as the basic model, which combines the advantages of one-dimensional convolution and depthwise separable convolution to effectively characterize the gunshot signal while decreasing the computing cost of convolution. Secondly, using the knowledge distillation, EfficientNetTime is used as the teacher model to generate a compressed student model that maintains accuracy and greatly reducing model size. Lastly, the EfficientNetTime student model can be deployed on resource-limited embedded systems. The proposed method can automatically extract features for end-to-end recognition and is robust to temporal transformations of input signals. Using a publicly available gunshot dataset, the proposed EfficientNetTime model is verified and compared against the state-of-the-art models. Experimental results demonstrate that the EfficientNetTime model surpasses other gunshot recognition methods in terms of the accuracy and model size.

Contributions of Biobehavioral Sciences to the Study and Prevention of Firearm Violence: Perceived Threat, Cognitive Control, and Firearm Culture

The study and prevention of firearm violence are clearly in the realm of psychology, yet the potential contributions of the biobehavioral sciences to the study of firearm violence are underexplored. Most biobehavioral research has identified individual-level vulnerabilities for violence more broadly, with less focus on how biological risk manifests in the context of firearm culture in particular. Reviewing the literature leads to two main insights: first, the nature of firearm acquisition in the United States (easy access, self-protection motives, and exaggerated perceptions of threat) can itself trigger biobehavioral processes (e.g., threat disruptions in cognitive control) representing a risk for firearm violence. Second, cutting-edge research using digital and biological phenotyping represents a potentially useful approach for tracking and forecasting the momentary risk of firearm violence among high-risk firearm carriers. Policy recommendations informed by the reviewed research can help improve prevention and intervention efforts.

A Nation of Guns

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reviews Bloodbath Nation, a poignant exploration of the painful, studiously ignored truths about gun culture in the U.S. To grapple with the epidemic of gun violence, she writes, requires confronting deeper truths about white supremacy, settler-colonialism, and the U.S. history of enslavement.

A Nation of Guns

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reviews Bloodbath Nation, a poignant exploration of the painful, studiously ignored truths about gun culture in the U.S. To grapple with the epidemic of gun violence, she writes, requires confronting deeper truths about white supremacy, settler-colonialism, and the U.S. history of enslavement.

99EMF A Retrospective Study of a Novel Prediction Tool for Assessing Those at Risk for Firearm Violence

99EMF A Retrospective Study of a Novel Prediction Tool for Assessing Those at Risk for Firearm Violence