title: Examining the relationship between the prevalence of guns and homicide rates in the USA using a new and improved state-level gun ownership proxy.
abstract: Determining the relationship between gun ownership levels and firearm homicide rates is critical to inform public health policy. Previous research has shown that state-level gun ownership, as measured by a widely used proxy, is positively associated with firearm homicide rates. A newly developed proxy measure that incorporates the hunting license rate in addition to the proportion of firearm suicides correlates more highly with state-level gun ownership. To corroborate previous research, we used this new proxy to estimate the association of state-level gun ownership with total, firearm, and non-firearm homicides. Using state-specific data for the years 1981-2010, we modelled these rates as a function of gun ownership level, controlling for potential confounding factors. We used a negative binomial regression model and accounted for clustering of observations among states. We found that state-level gun ownership as measured by the new proxy, is significantly associated with firearm and total homicides but not with non-firearm homicides.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siegel
authors.affiliation: Virtual Media Resources, Natick, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Craig S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Greylock McKinnon Associates, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Pleiades Consulting Group, Inc., Lincoln, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D005389:Firearms / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008004:Licensure; D010067:Ownership / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D019727:Proxy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control