Alcohol misuse, firearm violence perpetration, and public policy in the United States
Section snippets
Firearms
Exposure to firearms is very common in the United States. Roughly 300 million firearms are in civilian possession in this country—about 45% of all civilian-owned firearms worldwide, though the United States accounts for only about 4.5% of the world's population (Graduate Institute of International Studies, 2007). General Social Survey (GSS) data for 2010 suggest that there are approximately 50 million firearm owners in the United States, including about 35% of men and 11% of women (General
Alcohol misuse, firearms, and violence
In prevalence studies, to the extent that the questions have been asked, persons with alcohol or other substance abuse disorders, other forms of serious mental illness, impulsive anger, and suicidal ideation have reported the presence of firearms in the home (as distinct from personal firearm ownership), gun carrying outside the home, and storing firearms both loaded and not locked away at frequencies that approximate those in the general population (Swanson et al., 2015) (Ilgen et al., 2008,
Federal and State policies on firearms and alcohol
Policies intended to prevent firearm violence often focus on individuals believed to be at high risk for committing such violence. Federal statutes, for example, prohibit the purchase and possession of firearms by persons who have been convicted of any felony or domestic violence misdemeanor, who are subject to a domestic violence restraining order, have been found to be “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance,” have been “adjudicated as a mental defective” or “committed to
Effectiveness of regulation
Efforts to prevent firearm violence by regulating access to firearms are based on the means reduction approach to violence prevention (Johnson and Coyne-Beasley, 2009, Sarchiapone et al., 2011). Many general population studies, only a few of which are cited here, have established an association between the prevalence of access to firearms and risk of firearm violence (Killias, 1993, Miller et al., 2007a, Miller et al., 2007b, Wintemute et al., 1999). The means reduction approach holds that if
Acting on the evidence
The available evidence is that acute alcohol intoxication and a history of alcohol misuse are independent risk factors for firearm violence. Policies that restrict firearm access by persons with other risk factors for have been shown to be effective. Properly-crafted policies addressing firearm access for persons who misuse alcohol are likely to be effective as well.
The critical flaw in most existing alcohol-related restrictions on firearm access is the vague and subjective definitions that
Conclusion
Firearm access, including personal firearm ownership, and alcohol misuse are both common in the United States. They appear to be associated with one another, and both are associated with an increase in risk for committing firearm violence. Restricting access to firearms by persons who misuse alcohol would likely prevent violence, if restrictions were well-designed and enforced. States enacting such restrictions would be acting in accord with a large body of empirical evidence. To add to that
Conflict of Interest
The author declares that there are no conflicts of interests.
Acknowledgments
The author is grateful to Vanessa McHenry of the Violence Prevention Research Program for assistance with manuscript preparation.
This research was supported in part by The California Wellness Foundation (grant no. 2013–159), which played no role in study design or conceptualization; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.
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