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Report

The Science of Gun Policy: First Edition

Mar 2, 2018

What does the scientific evidence tell us about the effects of gun policies? Part of the RAND Gun Policy in America initiative, this report assesses the available evidence for the effects of commonly proposed gun laws on firearm deaths, violent crime, suicide, the gun industry, hunting and sport shooting, and other outcomes.
Project

Informing the Gun Policy Debate

Mar 2, 2018

RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative provides information on what scientific research can tell us about the effects of gun laws. Our goal is to establish a shared set of facts that will improve public discussions and support the development of fair and effective gun policies.

Explore Public Safety Legislation

Visualization

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.

Apr 27, 2021
Tool

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
Journal Article

Impact on Nonfirearm Deaths of Firearm Laws Affecting Firearm Deaths: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

State gun policies that reduce firearm homicides are likely to reduce overall homicides in the state by approximately the same number. It is currently unknown whether the same holds for state gun policies that significantly reduce firearm suicides.

Apr 13, 2021
Journal Article

The Covid-19 Pandemic and Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the EU

This study offers a preliminary overview of the measures undertaken across the EU to support victims of violence during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Mar 9, 2021
Journal Article

When Is a Match Sufficient? A Score-based Balance Metric for the Synthetic Control Method

In this study, we present metrics to help analysts determine whether they have a good enough match to conduct causal inference using synthetic control method.

Feb 2, 2021
Blog

The Most Popular RAND Research of 2020

Here are the RAND research projects that resonated most in 2020, a year unlike any in living memory. Topics include remote learning, election disinformation, income inequality, and more.

Dec 21, 2020
Blog

RAND Commentary Highlights from 2020

The roughly 400 op-eds and blog posts published by RAND researchers during the year reflected an enormous variety of expertise and perspectives, from remote education to election cybersecurity to the economic harms of racial disparities. Here are 10 highlights that landed in high-profile news outlets.

Dec 18, 2020
Blog

Health Care Price Transparency, COVID-19 Vaccinations, Gun Laws: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on what private health plans pay compared to what Medicare pays, when COVID-19's global spread really began, laws that could reduce firearm deaths, and more.

Sep 25, 2020
Visualization

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.

Sep 17, 2020
Tool

The RAND State Firearm Law Database

As part of the Gun Policy in America initiative, RAND developed a longitudinal data set of state and District of Columbia firearm laws from 1979 to 2019 to support improved analysis and understanding of the effects of gun laws.

Sep 17, 2020
Commentary

How States and Localities Might Approach Operational Design Domains for AVs

An operational design domain (ODD) is a description of the conditions in which an autonomous vehicle is designed to operate safely. No nationwide ODD policy exists, but because ODD is partly about the characteristics of a specific location, state and local policies could be useful.

Aug 20, 2020
Multimedia

Gun Policy in America: New Insights

RAND economist Rosanna Smart shares new insights from the Gun Policy in America initiative, including evidence about the effects of child access prevention laws and stand-your-ground laws.

Jul 31, 2020
Periodical

RAND Review: July-August 2020

Feature stories explore what research says about learning loss after extended school breaks; how stress and trauma affect individual and community health; and how a critical care surge response tool is helping hospitals during the pandemic.

Jul 13, 2020
Journal Article

Changes in Firearm Mortality Following the Implementation of State Laws Regulating Firearm Access and Use

Laws that regulate children's access to firearms, the carrying of a concealed firearm, and the use of a firearm in self-defense, are associated with an 11% decrease in the firearms-related death rate.

Jun 26, 2020
Blog

Protests and Police Reform, Facial Recognition, Gun Policies: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on protests and police reform after the killing of George Floyd, facial recognition bans, gun policies that likely reduce deaths, and more.

Jun 19, 2020
Commentary

COVID-19 Reveals Need for More Research About Guns

Recent reports suggest that Americans reacted to the pandemic by purchasing guns and ammunition in massive numbers. What does this mean for public safety? And how can policymakers ensure that this doesn't result in more injuries or deaths?

Jun 18, 2020
News Release

Firearm Use and Storage Restrictions Associated with Reduction in Deaths

Three common types of gun laws are associated with changes in the rate of firearm deaths, with the most-restrictive combination of the laws estimated to result in an 11 percent reduction in deaths.

Jun 15, 2020
Tool

Gun Policy Research for High School Students

When RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative released its first set of research tools in 2018, high school teachers reported that their students were keenly interested. This new unit plan, recommended for grades 10 to 12, is designed to help educators and students understand gun policy research.

Jun 11, 2020
News Release

Growing Evidence About the Effects of Gun Policies Provides Needed Information for Policy Decisions

Research evaluating the effectiveness of gun policies has surged over the past two years, providing information policymakers and the public need to make sound decisions on policies designed to reduce homicides and injuries while protecting individuals' rights.

Apr 22, 2020
Blog

New Insights on Gun Policy in America

RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative aims to establish a shared set of facts about gun policies. Recently, researchers completed an update and expansion of their synthesis of all available scientific evidence on the effects of 18 classes of gun laws.

Apr 22, 2020

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Public Safety Legislation