According to a study, the number of Americans with loaded handguns has doubled in the past two years.
“Between the increases in people who have handguns and those who carry every day, there’s been a striking rise in handgun ownership in the US,” Says University of Washington Ali Rowhani Rahbar (epidemician), was the leader of the study.
The United States has the Most civilian-held firearmsAny country anywhere in the world. A A slew epidemiological studiesEvidence has been presented in the US of gun violence that causes immeasurable harm.
But only a handful of peer-reviewed national surveys on the gun-carrying behaviors of firearm owners have been completed in the past 30 years – making this new data a significant resource in monitoring changes in the nation’s attitudes towards firearms.
Researchers surveyed almost 2,400 adults in the United States who own firearms to understand their habits and how they use them.
Based on the study’s findings, the team estimates that 6 million handgun owners carried a handgun on their person every day in 2019 – twice as many as the In 2015, 3 million people carried a daily bag in 2015.The last national firearms survey took place in the year 2000.
This was before the pandemicWhen gun violence surgedThe US saw an increase in psychological, social, and economic stressors, which added to the already stretched health system.
Rowhani Rahbar and coworkers found that 3 out 10 handgun owners had a loaded gun on them in the last 30 days. Of those, 4 in 10 carried it every day. Send them a note in your paperPublised in the American Journal of Public Health.
The list ofA nationally representative sample 2,389 handgun owners, the majority who reported carrying a firearm were white, male, and aged 18–44.
The study revealed that personal protection is the primary reason nearly three quarters of firearm owners now carry a loaded handgun. This is up from the 46 percent who stated it in 1994.
Although security is a growing incentive, more guns are a greater danger. Individuals aren’t safer because of itAccording to research, this is true in fact. Research has shown that past studies have supported the idea of introducing stricter gun control lawsThis has saved lives Countries around the globe. Despite this, there has been a significant relaxation in US legislation.
The researchers stated that “these trends have been accompanied with a loosening state laws governing who may carry handguns at public places.” Write. While in 1990, only one US state allowed handguns to be carried on the person of citizens without a permit in that country, today there are 21.
At the same time, the proportion of US firearm owners who receive formal firearm training – most commonly on safe handling, safe storage, and preventing accidents, but little in the way of suicide prevention – has Not significantly changedOver the past 20 years.
Recent research suggests that firearm-carrying behaviors may be responsive to certain laws regarding carrying in public.
There was a proportionally lower number of firearm owners who carried handguns to states where the issuing authorities had considerable discretion in granting permits. In other words, one-fifth did so in those states during the previous month. This compares to one-third of handgun owner’s who reside in states where no permit is required for a loaded firearm.
However, the study also found a substantial increase between 2015 and 2019 in the number of handgun owners who carried handguns without a permit when they were legally required to have one – a figure now hovering between 7.5 and 11.5 percent of handgun owners surveyed.
A lot of respondents said they didn’t know whether they were allowed to carry a permit. Some people refused to answer questions about permits or how many firearms they own.
These findings follow a recent US Supreme Court decision A 109-year-old New York state handgun carrying law was struck downThe state has seen laws in some other areas of the country relaxes already in this area.
Rowhani Rahbar said, “In light of this ruling, our study reinforces that importance of studying the implications handgun carrying for the public health and safety.” Says.
Gun violence and firearm-related death can be prevented in large part. This is a serious public health problem that especially affects young people.
2020 saw the introduction of firearm-related injuries. The leading cause of death among AmericansAmong infants and adolescents aged 1-19 years, motor vehicle accidents, cancerous tumors and drug overdoses and poisoning are the most common.
Mass shootings still haunt the United States. But, the majority of firearm-related deaths are due to suicide, murder, or unintentional mortal injuries.
About half of Americans would like gun laws in their country. Those rules would be stricter. However, previous global analyses have shown that nothing less than a Major overhaul of legislationTo see real change, it is necessary to be proactive.
The study was published by the American Journal of Public Health.
