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Firearms

Crime and Violence Prevention
commentary
'Stand Your Ground' Laws May Be Causing More Harm Than Good
Andrew R. Morral @AndrewMorral, Rosanna Smart @RosannaSmart
Sep 12, 2019
Orlando Sentinel
Americans have debated whether “stand your ground” laws or gun-free zones make us safer or less safe for decades. These are debates about factual matters that are, in principle, knowable. Without research on these and other topics, bad laws will inadvertently be passed or retained.
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Crime and Violence Prevention
commentary
No Need to Wait for Congress to Address Mass Shootings
John S. Hollywood, Jordan Reimer
Aug 23, 2019
The Hill
After three mass shootings in the span of a week left 53 wounded and 34 dead, pressure is mounting on Congress to respond with legislation to restrict access to guns and ammunition. But there is no need to wait for new laws. There are steps that can be taken immediately that evidence suggests could help prevent attacks or reduce the death toll from them.
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United States
blog
RAND's Summer Reading List for Congress
Aug 5, 2019
For busy staff, August's respite from back-to-back meetings, hearing preparation, and late votes is hard-earned. The summer recess also provides an opportunity to get ahead of issues that will resurface in the fall. To that end, we have compiled recent RAND research on topics likely to top the congressional agenda come September.
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Childhood Trauma
commentary
After School Shootings, Children and Communities Struggle to Heal
Ariella Iancu, Lisa H. Jaycox, Joie D. Acosta, Frank G. Straub, Samantha Iovan, Christopher Nelson, Mahshid Abir
Jul 19, 2019
Health Affairs Blog
School shootings leave wounds that affect students, school staff, families, and communities for years. Building community resilience, implementing evidence-based mental health support early, and providing access for survivors and the community immediately and in the long term could help promote healing and prevent more tragedy.
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Suicide
commentary
Preventing Suicide: Treat Mass Shooting Trauma Beyond Initial Tragedy
Joie D. Acosta, Lisa H. Jaycox
Apr 4, 2019
United Press International
The need for mental health support and suicide-prevention efforts targeting survivors of mass shootings, and the friends and families of victims, is great. Putting such programs in place could go a long way toward helping them heal, and preventing more tragedy.
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Terrorism
commentary
The Christchurch Massacre Was Another Internet-Enabled Atrocity
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Mar 20, 2019
The Hill
Terrorism has become an internet-enabled abuse—incited, propagated, and sometimes organized and concealed by online activity. Who should be held accountable for abusive content, the author or the publisher? And what role should the government play in regulating it?
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Gun Violence
blog
The Most Popular RAND Research of 2018
Dec 21, 2018
RAND serves as an objective source of facts that help inform the world's most pressing policy debates. When decisions are based on the best evidence, that's when public policy can have a positive impact on people's lives. We're highlighting the 10 research projects that RAND.org readers found most engaging this year.
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Gun Violence
commentary
How U.S. Gun Laws Allow Mass Shooters to Slip Through
Benjamin Bahney
Nov 15, 2018
Los Angeles Times
The three most lethal domestic terrorist attacks since 9/11 were carried out with high-capacity semiautomatic weapons. None of the attackers were under 21 or were stoppable through criminal background checks. Restrictions on sales of semiautomatics would make it much harder for terrorists to obtain their most effective means of killing.
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Gun Violence
essay
More Research Could Help Prevent Gun Violence in America
Jul 10, 2018
Both sides of the gun policy debate agree on what the objectives of any policy should be. But they disagree over which policies would best achieve those goals. Current evidence for or against most gun proposals is weak, contradictory, or nonexistent. Only research can show what does—and doesn't—work.
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Civil Rights
commentary
From Florida's Farm Fields, Lessons for #MeToo and Other Movements
Susan L. Marquis @susanlmarquis
Jun 15, 2018
United Press International
Organizers who want to bring about social change would do well to look to Florida farmworkers. They took on the low wages, physical abuse, and vulnerability that have long characterized agricultural labor in the United States—and won, changing the culture for the better.
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School Security
commentary
How Can the U.S. Do a Better Job of Keeping Kids Safe at School?
Rajeev Ramchand, Jessica Saunders, Heather L. Schwartz
Mar 26, 2018
Fox News Channel
Many proposals to improve school safety promote the use of technology, such as metal detectors and video cameras. How effective are these devices? The evidence is mixed.
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Gun Violence
commentary
How to Bring Facts into the Gun Policy Debate
Andrew R. Morral @AndrewMorral
Mar 9, 2018
USA Today
As debate continues to rage over the causes and prevention of gun violence, it's worth asking how science can help lawmakers and the public resolve longstanding disagreements that have stood in the way of solutions.
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Markets
commentary
Bitcoin and the Dark Web: The New Terrorist Threat?
Antonia Ward
Jan 22, 2018
Georgetown University Security Studies Review
Bitcoin has become the prominent currency of the dark web, which is often used to buy illegal goods, such as weapons and drugs. Anecdotal evidence suggests terrorists are using cryptocurrency and the dark web, but further investigation is needed.
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Firearms
commentary
Connect, Buy-Now, Fire: How the Dark Web Allows Criminals to Buy Weapons—Anonymously
Giacomo Persi Paoli
Jul 25, 2017
Prospect Magazine
Despite its small size compared to the offline market, the ability of the dark web to anonymously arm individuals of all backgrounds needs to be taken seriously. Its potential impact on international security is significant.
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Suicide
essay
Is Suicide Preventable? Insights from Research
May 8, 2017
Conventional wisdom about suicide prevention suggests that one just needs to know what warning signs to look for. But that's not the case.
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Domestic Terrorism
commentary
When Is a Terrorist Really a Terrorist?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jan 27, 2017
The Hill
Countering mass violence demands a distinction between attackers who are truly inspired by jihadism and those with lesser links. The latter includes people whose mental states and violent tendencies preexist their exposure to the ideology.
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Crime and Violence Prevention
commentary
Pitfalls of Predictive Policing
Jessica Saunders
Oct 11, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
The Chicago Police Department's predictive policing program didn't work. To achieve even a 5 percent drop in the city's homicide rate, enormous leaps in both prediction and intervention effectiveness are necessary.
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Arms Proliferation and Control
commentary
Tracing Firearms and Ammunition
Giacomo Persi Paoli
Sep 9, 2016
Defence Management Review
The marking of firearms and ammunition supports effective tracing by enabling identification and efficient record keeping. But currently there are no mandatory, globally accepted standards that regulate firearms marking.
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Domestic Violence
commentary
Domestic Warning Signs of Mass Shootings
Radha Iyengar Plumb
Aug 6, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
After shootings, there is inevitably public debate over gun safety, constitutional rights, police tactics, terrorism, race, and politics. But these discussions rarely focus on a common factor among the perpetrators: a history of violence against women.
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Firearms
commentary
A Brief History of the Assault Rifle
Michael Shurkin @MichaelShurkin
Jun 30, 2016
The Atlantic
The assault rifle is a class of weapon that emerged in the middle of the last century to meet the needs of combat soldiers on the modern battlefield, where the level of violence had reached such heights that an entirely new way of fighting had emerged.
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Counterterrorism
blog
Orlando Nightclub Shooting: RAND Experts React
Jun 15, 2016
RAND experts provide perspective on the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, what it likely means within the context of the campaign against ISIS, and more.
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Gun Violence
commentary
Gun Violence: Where Is the Research That Might Save Lives?
Jeffrey Wasserman
Nov 5, 2015
Newsweek
Gun violence is an important public health problem that accounts for more than 33,000 deaths each year in the United States but in 1996, Congress stripped the CDC of funding for any research that could be associated with gun control advocacy. The lack of CDC funding has deterred researchers.
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Military Recruitment
commentary
Go Slow on Arming Recruiters
Ben Connable
Jul 31, 2015
The Hill
Several important voices have argued for arming military recruiters in the wake of the recent shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Giving them a chance to fight back against an active shooter may be a sound proposition, but practicalities of military recruiting suggest a patient and thoughtful policy review.
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Transportation Security
commentary
Want to Create Problems? Arm the TSA
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Nov 7, 2013
Los Angeles Times
With its current 47,000 screeners, an armed TSA would become the federal government's largest armed entity outside of the military. In the eyes of many, arming TSA screeners would change the image of the organization from a service aimed at guaranteeing safe air travel to an unwanted imposition of federal authority.
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Terrorism Threat Assessment
commentary
Airport Violence—Not a New Phenomenon
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Nov 2, 2013
The RAND Blog
Shootings at airports are nothing new, writes Brian Michael Jenkins. In fact, they have regularly occurred worldwide in recent years. The motives have included terrorism, crime, and mental illness.
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Military Budgets and Defense Spending
blog
At 65, RAND Continues to Make a Difference
May 14, 2013
To celebrate our first 60 years, we created '60 Ways RAND Has Made a Difference,' an online book to illustrate our most notable contributions. On our 65th birthday, we provide five of the most recent ways in which we at RAND are proud to have made a difference.
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Gun Violence
commentary
Guns in Homes: A Health Hazard
Arthur L. Kellermann
Mar 25, 2013
New York Daily News
An ample body of evidence indicates that the benefits of keeping a gun for protection are substantially outweighed by the associated risks, writes Art Kellermann.
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United States
blog
The State of the Union 2013
Feb 13, 2013
The 2013 SOTU address will be remembered for its impassioned call for greater gun control just two months after Sandy Hook. But President Obama's second-term agenda can be characterized by its sheer breadth, reflecting the broad range of policy challenges facing the United States today.
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Gun Violence
commentary
Firearms and Gun Control: Many Questions, Some Answers
Sarah Michal Greathouse, Brian A. Jackson, K. Jack Riley @K_Jack_Riley, Andrew R. Morral @AndrewMorral, Debra Knopman, Arthur L. Kellermann
Jan 17, 2013
The RAND Blog
President Obama's task force on gun violence has raised the stakes in the policy debate on gun control and policy in the wake of the recent shootings in Colorado and Connecticut. Some of RAND's top researchers share what is, and what isn't, known about firearms and gun control.
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Violence
commentary
Can Improved Mental Health Care Prevent Gun Crimes? The Truth Is, We Don't Know
Terry L. Schell
Jan 17, 2013
The RAND Blog
If policymakers and the public expect the mental health community to play a significant role in preventing future incidents like Newtown, the mental health research agenda must become a higher national priority in future federal funding decisions, writes Terry Schell.
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Crime and Violence Prevention
commentary
Accounting for Risk of Violent Death
Arthur L. Kellermann
Jan 7, 2013
The Washington Post
As a Southerner who learned to shoot at an early age, I've never had a problem with guns. But emergency-room doctors like me also know how much damage they can cause if misused or allowed to fall into the wrong hands, writes Arthur Kellermann.
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Emergency Preparedness
commentary
Responding to Newtown
Arthur L. Kellermann
Dec 26, 2012
Health Affairs Blog
Art Kellermann reviews what is known from broad outlines of the Newtown attack and past research on gun violence to offer some preliminary thoughts to the Obama Administration's task force and the public.
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Mental Health Treatment
commentary
Shifting the Burden of Mental Health Care: Helping Families
Ramya Chari
Dec 21, 2012
The RAND Blog
In our national conversation on mental health, we should remember the role of families when thinking about treatment and ensure that our policies open up opportunities to support parents, siblings and relatives, and enhance their capacity for care, writes Ramya Chari.
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Gun Violence
commentary
Silencing the Science on Gun Research
Arthur L. Kellermann, Frederick P. Rivara
Dec 21, 2012
The Journal of the American Medical Association
The United States has long relied on public health science to improve the safety, health, and lives of its citizens. Perhaps the same straightforward, problem-solving approach that worked well in other circumstances can help the nation meet the challenge of firearm violence, writes Arthur Kellermann.
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Mental Health Treatment
commentary
In Connecticut, Recovery and Healing Will Take Time
Lisa H. Jaycox
Dec 20, 2012
The RAND Blog
With an event like this, With an event like this, 'recovery' doesn't mean a return to normal, because lives have been permanently altered. Recovery can only mean finding a new normal, a new path forward. And schools, those places of safety and healthy development, can help with that process, by providing a structure and community to support healing, writes Lisa Jaycox.
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