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Gun Policy

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Project
Informing the Gun Policy Debate
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.
Jan 10, 2023
Tool
New Tool Shows State-by-State Firearm Policies and Death Rates
An online tool allows users to see how firearm death rates vary across the United States and explore how changes in gun policy might affect those rates for each state. It shows that states in the northeast and the coastal west have the lowest firearm death rates, while states in the south and mountain west have rates that are especially high.
Feb 22, 2023

Explore Gun Policy

Report
Suggestions for Estimating the Effects of State Gun Policies: Commentary on Four Methodological Problems in the Current Literature
In this report, the authors discuss four common methodological problems that they observed in the literature evaluating gun policies and offer suggestions for how future research on gun policies could be improved.
Feb 15, 2022
Blog
Addressing Anti-Asian Racism, Stabilizing U.S. Rivalries, the Debt-Ceiling Fight: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on countering anti-Asian racism, the instability of U.S. rivalries with Russia and China, the rise in extremist online activity, and more.
Dec 3, 2021
News Release
Wide Disagreement Remains Among U.S. Gun Policy Experts; Five Policies Show Less Disagreement
Wide disagreement remains among U.S. experts who study gun policy issues, with differing opinions about how much individual policies may reduce gun violence and other harms caused by firearms. Researchers found there were generally two ideological camps—a restrictive group (who favor more-restrictive regulatory approaches to gun ownership and use) and a permissive group (who favor more-permissive regulatory approaches to gun ownership and use).
Nov 30, 2021
Tool
What Are the Predicted Effects of U.S. Gun Policies, According to Experts?
As part of the RAND Gun Policy in America initiative, experts with diverse gun policy views were surveyed on how they predicted specific gun laws would affect outcomes, such as suicide, mass shootings, and individuals' privacy. This expert-opinion tool shows where these experts agree and disagree.
Nov 30, 2021
Report
The Magnitude and Sources of Disagreement Among Gun Policy Experts: Second Edition
This report describes combined results from two fieldings of a survey of gun policy experts designed to identify areas of agreement and whether disagreements stem from assumptions about the policies' effects or from differences in policy objectives.
Nov 30, 2021
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
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 of 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
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

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Research conducted by

RAND Social and Economic Well-Being

Researcher Spotlight

Andrew R. Morral

Senior Behavioral Scientist, Director of the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research

Andrew R. Morral is a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation, leader of Gun Policy in America, a RAND initiative to understand the effects of gun policies, and director of the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research, a philanthropy that has awarded more than $21m in research…
Amanda Charbonneau

Associate Policy Researcher

Amanda Charbonneau is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation who studies decisionmaking and policies related to public safety and health. This work includes linking a randomized controlled trial with administrative data to increase the accuracy of proactive policing decisions,…

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