Handgun waiting periods reduce gun deaths
Abstract
Waiting period laws that delay the purchase of firearms by a few days reduce gun homicides by roughly 17%. Our results imply that the 17 states (including the District of Columbia) with waiting periods avoid roughly 750 gun homicides per year as a result of this policy. Expanding the waiting period policy to all other US states would prevent an additional 910 gun homicides per year without imposing any restrictions on who can own a gun.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- November 2017
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1619896114
- Bibcode:
- 2017PNAS..11412162L