Why it Matters
Firearms can be equally seen as tools for self-defense and offensive attacks or suicides. When there are many firearm-regulating laws in the state, fewer people will possibly have firearm, which means more safety, but simultaneously, it will be harder to buy a gun for self-defense. Thus, it is unclear whether the higher number of regulating laws correlates with fewer firearm-related causalities.
The Parameters
I have analyzed two articles: the first was published by Fleegler et al. in 2013, and the second by Madhavan et al. in 2019. The main difference between them is that the first explores the whole US population, while the second focuses only on children and teens aged 0 – 19 (Madhavan et al. 150). The first article explores the general firearm causalities rates from 2007 to 2010, and the second uses the children’s firearm causalities 2014 to 2015. The results of those studies are slightly different but complement each other. Fleegler’s article shows that the higher number of firearm-related laws in states correlates with the lower number of firearm-related causalities, both homicides and suicides (Fleegler et al. 737). While it is unsure whether there is a causal relationship, and the article states that more profound researches are necessary, states with a larger number of legislative laws may be considered safer. Madhavan’s article shows that child access prevention (CAP) firearm laws reduce child suicide rates greatly, but the reduction in child homicide rates was insignificant (Madhavan et al. 150). To conclude, both articles show that gun-controlling laws, in general, reduce firearm-related causalities. However, both of them emphasize the need of further studies that explores the cultural differences in each state and how they correlate with the firearm laws number and firearm-related causalities.
Works Cited
Fleegler, Eric W., et al. “Firearm Legislation and Firearm-Related Fatalities in the United States.” JAMA Internal Medicine, vol. 173, no. 9, 2013, p. 732. Web.
Madhavan, Sriraman, et al. “Firearm Legislation Stringency and Firearm-Related Fatalities among Children in the US.” Journal of the American College of Surgeons, vol. 229, no. 2, 2019, pp. 150–57. Web.