PerspectiveCOVID-19 Reveals Need for More Research about Guns
Shortages of toilet paper at neighborhood grocery stores have become a symbol of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 virus, but recent reports suggest that people also reacted to the pandemic by purchasing firearms and ammunition in massive numbers. Andrew R. Morral and Jeremy Travis write in USA Today (republished by RAND) that eventually, the pandemic will recede, scientific rigor will lead to treatments or a vaccine, and life will start to return to a new normal—but those new firearms aren’t going anywhere. They ask: “What does this mean for public safety? And what can policymakers do to ensure that a spike in sales doesn’t result in more injuries or deaths?”
Shortages of toilet paper at neighborhood grocery stores have become a symbol of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 virus, but recent reports suggest that people also reacted to the pandemic by purchasing firearms and ammunition in massive numbers. Year over year, estimates of gun sales increased 85% in March (PDF), the highest level ever recorded in the United States, followed in April by a 71% increase (PDF).
Andrew R. Morral and Jeremy Travis write in USA Today (republished by RAND) that eventually, the pandemic will recede, scientific rigor will lead to treatments or a vaccine, and life will start to return to a new normal—but those new firearms aren’t going anywhere.
What does this mean for public safety? And what can policymakers do to ensure that a spike in sales doesn’t result in more injuries or deaths?
That’s a tough question to answer. The topic is divisive. The stakes are high. The constitutional right to bear arms must be respected. And, unfortunately, the body of evidence is thin, which leaves lawmakers with limited objective policy guidance.
But things are starting to change.
Last year, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the first major federal funding for gun policy research in more than 20 years. We hope that this one-time $25 million is just the beginning and that additional funding will become a routine, bipartisan part of federal budgets.
As the nation enters this new generation of research, there’s reason to hope we can finally build an evidence base that helps policymakers identify the policies and practices that effectively support public safety.
For example, RAND’s Gun Policy in America has determined that child access prevention laws are likely to reduce both accidental injuries and suicides among young people. These laws impose civil or criminal liability on adults who leave loaded firearms unsecured where children may access them. Today, 19 states and Washington, D.C. have enacted Child Access Prevention (CAP) laws designed to prevent the negligent storage of firearms.
