Tools and Data from the Gun Policy in America Initiative

The Gun Policy in America initiative developed tools and resources to help advance research on the effects of gun policies. These include a new data set of state laws and their variants, and an online tool exploring expert views on how different combinations of policies are likely to affect outcomes.

Tools

  • Firearm Injury Hospitalizations in America

    To address a gap in the available data on firearm injuries, RAND researchers have developed a longitudinal database of state-level estimates of hospitalizations due to firearm injury. Use this visualization to see rates of firearm injuries in your state from 2000 to 2016, and how trends in firearm injuries differ between states.

  • Screen capture of a chart depicting the potential decrease in firearm death rates by state.

    These Three Firearm Restrictions Could Help Reduce Gun Deaths in Your State

    States that put into effect the most restrictive combination of three common gun policies—regulating the way people use, carry and store their firearms—could see a small but meaningful reduction of firearm deaths.

  • Gun Ownership in America

    Information about how many Americans own guns, and how this varies over time and across the United States, is important for understanding the effects of gun laws on firearm ownership and other outcomes. Use this tool to explore the estimated household gun ownership rate by state from 1980 to 2016.

  • Map of U.S. showing changes in gun law implementation over time

    State Firearm Law Navigator

    Research on the effects of gun laws requires good data on when and where different types of laws have been implemented. The State Firearm Law Navigator shows which states since 1979 have enacted four types of laws: background checks, concealed-carry, stand-your-ground laws, and child-access prevention laws.

  • Gun Policy Expert-Opinion Tool

    As part of the Gun Policy in America initiative, RAND surveyed experts with diverse views on how gun policies might affect outcomes, such as violent crime, suicide, and participation in hunting and sport shooting. This tool allows you to explore where these experts agree and disagree and what combinations of laws might offer the potential for compromise on all sides.

  • Gun Policy Opinion Survey

    Answer the four questions that most sharply distinguished experts who favor more-permissive policies for gun use and access and experts who favor more-restrictive policies. See how your answers line up with theirs.

Data

  • A person lying in a hospital bed covered by a sheet. Photo by kieferpix / Getty Images

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

    The lack of reliable, state-level data on firearm injuries is a challenge for gun policy researchers. As part of the Gun Policy in America initiative, RAND researchers developed a publicly available longitudinal database of state-level estimates of inpatient hospitalizations that occur as a result of firearm injury.

    Apr 27, 2021

  • State-Level Estimates of Household Firearm Ownership

    Measures of firearm ownership are critical to understanding how gun ownership may affect crime rates or other outcomes, or may be affected by gun policies. As part of the Gun Policy in America initiative, RAND researchers developed annual, state-level estimates of household firearm ownership.

    Apr 22, 2020