Effect of current federal regulations on handgun safety features.
OBJECTIVE
In the late 1960s, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms implemented the "factoring criteria," a set of minimum size and safety standards required for any handgun imported into the United States. These standards, however, were not applied to guns manufactured domestically. We determine whether extending the factoring criteria to all handguns sold in the United States, as has been proposed in Congress, would increase the likelihood that safety devices would be included in new handgun designs.


METHODS
Imported and domestic handgun models produced in 1996 were examined to determine the prevalence of 4 passively acting safety devices on pistols and 1 passive safety device on revolvers. Domestic models were also scored against the factoring criteria.


RESULTS
Compared with domestic pistol models, imported pistols were more likely to include a firing pin block (odds ratio [OR] 2.43; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.54 to 3.85) and a loaded chamber indicator (OR 1.59; 95% CI 0.98 to 2.56). Domestic pistol models that already met the factoring criteria were more likely to include a loaded chamber indicator (OR 12.05; 95% CI 2.74 to 53.02), a grip safety (OR 24.12; 95% CI 7.8 to 74.33), and a firing pin block (OR 4.92; 95% CI 2.35 to 10.29) than domestic models that did not meet the criteria.


CONCLUSIONS
Although pistol models that meet the factoring criteria are more likely to contain safety devices than those that do not, the net effect is modest. Thus, the factoring criteria alone are insufficient to ensure consistent incorporation of safety features into new handgun designs.
Milne
John S
JS
Department of Emergency Medicine, Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, Michigan State University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
Hargarten
Stephen W
SW
Kellermann
Arthur L
AL
Wintemute
Garen J
GJ
D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005389:Firearms / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011482:Protective Devices; D014481:United States; D037041:United States Government Agencies; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000517:prevention & control*