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October 1, 1997, Vol 278, No. 13 >
ARTICLE | October 1, 1997

State Gun Safe Storage Laws and Child Mortality Due to Firearms FREE

Peter Cummings, MD, MPH; David C. Grossman, MD, MPH; Frederick P. Rivara, MD, MPH; Thomas D. Koepsell, MD, MPH
[+] Author Affiliations

Corresponding author: Peter Cummings, MD, MPH, Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, Box 359960, 325 Ninth Ave, Seattle, WA 98104-2499 (e-mail: peterc@u.washington.edu).


JAMA. 1997;278(13):1084-1086. doi:10.1001/jama.1997.03550130058037
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References

Context.  —Since 1989, several states have passed laws that make gun owners criminally liable if someone is injured because a child gains unsupervised access to a gun. These laws are controversial, and their effect on firearm-related injuries is unknown.

Objective.  —To determine if state laws that require safe storage of firearms are associated with a reduction in child mortality due to firearms.

Design.  —Anecological study of firearm mortality from 1979 through 1994.

Setting.  —All 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Participants.  —All children younger than 15 years.

Main Outcome Measures.  —Unintentional deaths, suicides, and homicides due to firearms.

Results.  —Laws that make gun owners responsible for storing firearms in a manner that makes them inaccessible to children were in effect for at least 1 year in 12 states from 1990 through 1994. Among children younger than 15 years, unintentional shooting deaths were reduced by 23% (95% confidence interval, 6%37%) during the years covered by these laws. This estimate was based on withinstate comparisons adjusted for national trends in unintentional firearm-related mortality. Gun-related homicide and suicide showed modest declines, but these were not statistically significant.

conclusions.  —State safe storage laws intended to make firearms less accessible to children appear to prevent unintentional shooting deaths among children younger than 15 years.

REFERENCES

1 +
Singh GK, Kochanek KD, MacDorman MF.  Advance report of final mortality statistics, 1994 . Monthly Vital Statistics Report . Hyattsville, Md: National Center for Health Statistics; 1996;: 55.
2 +
Annest JL, Mercy JA, Gibson DR, Ryan GW.  National estimates of nonfatal firearm-related injuries: beyond the tip of the iceberg . JAMA . 1995;;273:1749-1754.
3 +
Kleck G. Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America . Hawthorne, NY: Adline de Gruyter; 1991;: 51-52.
4 +
Maguire K, Pastore AL, eds. Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1993 . Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics; 1994;:203.
5 +
Hemenway D, Solnick SJ, Azrael DR.  Firearm training and storage . JAMA . 1995;;273:46-50.
6 +
Fla Stat §784.05, 790.174, 790.175.
7 +
Conn Gen Stat §29-37i, 29-37b.
8 +
Cal Penal Code §12035.
9 +
Iowa Code §724.22.
10 +
Nev Rev Stat §202.300.
11 +
New Jersey Stat §2C:58-15,2C:58-16.
12 +
Code of Virgina §18.2-52.2.
13 +
Wis Stat §948.55.
14 +
Hawaii Rev Stat §134-10.5.
15 +
Code of Maryland article 27, §36K.
16 +
Minn Stat §609.666.
17 +
Gen Stat of North Carolina §14-315.1,14-315.2.
18 +
White A-M.  A new trend in gun control: criminal liability for the negligent storage of firearms . Houston Law Rev . 1993;;30:1389-1431.
19 +
Maute ML.  New Jersey takes aim at gun violence by minors: parental criminal liability . Rutgers Law J . 1995;;26:431-468.
20 +
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC WONDER Website. Available at: http:// wonder.cdc.gov. Accessed January 1997.
21 +
World Health Organization. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) . Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1977;.
22 +
Breslow NE, Day NE. Statistical Methods in Cancer Research, II: The Design and Analysis of Cohort Studies . Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 1987;:131-133.
23 +
McCullagh P, Nelder JA. Generalized Linear Models . 2nd ed. New York, NY: Chapman & Hall; 1989;:39-40,198-199.
24 +
Gardner W, Mulvey EP, Shaw EC.  Regression analyses of counts and rates: Poisson, overdispersed Poisson, and negative binomial models . Psychol Bull . 1995;;118:392-404.
25 +
Breslow NE, Day NE. Statistical Methods in Cancer Research, I: The Analysis of Case-Control Studies . Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 1980;:207-209.
26 +
Gaynor PE, Kirkpatrick RC. Introduction to Time-Series Modeling and Forecasting in Business and Economics . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co; 1994;:410-411.
27 +
Fisher LD, van Belle G. Biostatistics: A Methodology for the Health Sciences . New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons Inc; 1993;:389-390.
28 +
Morgenstern H.  Ecologic studies in epidemiology: concepts, principles, methods . Annu Rev Public Health . 1995;;16:61-81.
29 +
Baltimore City Code article 19, §117A.
30 +
Forjuoh SN, Coben JH, Dearwater SR.  Firearm ownership and storage practices in Pennsylvania homes . Inj Prev . 1996;;2:278-282.

Figures

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Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature

Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal

1 +
Singh GK, Kochanek KD, MacDorman MF.  Advance report of final mortality statistics, 1994 . Monthly Vital Statistics Report . Hyattsville, Md: National Center for Health Statistics; 1996;: 55.
2 +
Annest JL, Mercy JA, Gibson DR, Ryan GW.  National estimates of nonfatal firearm-related injuries: beyond the tip of the iceberg . JAMA . 1995;;273:1749-1754.
3 +
Kleck G. Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America . Hawthorne, NY: Adline de Gruyter; 1991;: 51-52.
4 +
Maguire K, Pastore AL, eds. Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1993 . Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics; 1994;:203.
5 +
Hemenway D, Solnick SJ, Azrael DR.  Firearm training and storage . JAMA . 1995;;273:46-50.
6 +
Fla Stat §784.05, 790.174, 790.175.
7 +
Conn Gen Stat §29-37i, 29-37b.
8 +
Cal Penal Code §12035.
9 +
Iowa Code §724.22.
10 +
Nev Rev Stat §202.300.
11 +
New Jersey Stat §2C:58-15,2C:58-16.
12 +
Code of Virgina §18.2-52.2.
13 +
Wis Stat §948.55.
14 +
Hawaii Rev Stat §134-10.5.
15 +
Code of Maryland article 27, §36K.
16 +
Minn Stat §609.666.
17 +
Gen Stat of North Carolina §14-315.1,14-315.2.
18 +
White A-M.  A new trend in gun control: criminal liability for the negligent storage of firearms . Houston Law Rev . 1993;;30:1389-1431.
19 +
Maute ML.  New Jersey takes aim at gun violence by minors: parental criminal liability . Rutgers Law J . 1995;;26:431-468.
20 +
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC WONDER Website. Available at: http:// wonder.cdc.gov. Accessed January 1997.
21 +
World Health Organization. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) . Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1977;.
22 +
Breslow NE, Day NE. Statistical Methods in Cancer Research, II: The Design and Analysis of Cohort Studies . Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 1987;:131-133.
23 +
McCullagh P, Nelder JA. Generalized Linear Models . 2nd ed. New York, NY: Chapman & Hall; 1989;:39-40,198-199.
24 +
Gardner W, Mulvey EP, Shaw EC.  Regression analyses of counts and rates: Poisson, overdispersed Poisson, and negative binomial models . Psychol Bull . 1995;;118:392-404.
25 +
Breslow NE, Day NE. Statistical Methods in Cancer Research, I: The Analysis of Case-Control Studies . Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 1980;:207-209.
26 +
Gaynor PE, Kirkpatrick RC. Introduction to Time-Series Modeling and Forecasting in Business and Economics . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co; 1994;:410-411.
27 +
Fisher LD, van Belle G. Biostatistics: A Methodology for the Health Sciences . New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons Inc; 1993;:389-390.
28 +
Morgenstern H.  Ecologic studies in epidemiology: concepts, principles, methods . Annu Rev Public Health . 1995;;16:61-81.
29 +
Baltimore City Code article 19, §117A.
30 +
Forjuoh SN, Coben JH, Dearwater SR.  Firearm ownership and storage practices in Pennsylvania homes . Inj Prev . 1996;;2:278-282.

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