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Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review (2004)
Committee on Law and Justice (CLAJ)

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. "7 Firearms and Suicide." Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2004.

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Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review

Change in Gun Suicide After Gun Law

Change in Nongun Suicide After Gun Law

Change in Overall Suicide After Gun Law

Decrease

(SA males)

Increase (S.A. males)

No difference

No change

Not stated

Decrease

(not qualified)

(a) Decrease

(a) Not significant

(a) Decrease

(not quantified)

(b) Not significant

(b) Not stated

(b) Not stated

Decrease

Increase-jumping

Not significant

Decrease

Not significant

Decrease

Two other studies have evaluated the effects of safe storage laws on child and adolescent suicide (see Chapter 8). Cummings et al. (1997a) evaluated the possible effect of state safe storage gun laws on child mortality due to firearms; they found an insignificant decline in gun suicides (rate ratio 0.81, with a 95 percent confidence interval = 0.66-1.01) and overall suicides (rate ratio 0.95, with a 95 percent confidence interval = 0.75-1.20) for children under age 15 in states that had instituted such a law. In a similar study, Lott and Whitley (2000) investigated the effects of safe storage laws introduced in various states between 1979 and 1996. They compared gun and nongun suicides among children in the age group most likely to be affected by the law, as well as gun suicides in the next older age group, which should have been unaffected by the law. Their models also controlled for state and year fixed effects and 36 other demographic variables. They, too, found some reduction in gun suicides among children in states with stricter gun storage laws, but no reduction of overall suicide rates.

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