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, and analysis of the results from a survey of gun policy experts about the likely effects of gun laws. To help advance research on the effects of state gun policies, the RAND team also developed a new data set of state laws and their variants from 1979 to 2016, along with a brief paper documenting the methods behind the database. In addition, the team published a short technical report analyzing the methods and findings from a study of U.S. gun legislation and firearm mortality.
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.
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.
Part of RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative, the RAND State Firearm Law Database is a longitudinal data set of state firearm laws that is free to the public to support improved analysis and understanding of the effects of various laws.
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.
