In 2020, I began a careful literature review if the scientific
evidence regarding guns and their effect on individuals' safety and
security focusing primarily on home safety. To this end, I included
only scholarly papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, >preferably within the past decade; however, there wasn't a sharp
cut-off date.

I restricted the search to include only those studies where the data
were publicly available... which excluded "Gun Ownership as a Risk
Factor for Homicide in the Home" Kellermann, et. al. because their
data are HIPAA protected and Dr. Gary Kleck (various studies) because
his data are exclusively unvalidated, anonymous telephone survey
responses. (I'm looking for studies on gun use, not how people
respond to surveys.)

I find 37 studies matching my criteria (list attached in alphabetical
order by author.) My research question is: "What is the position of
the scientific community on gun ownership and personal safety?" In
the interest of objectivity, are there any that should have been
included and aren't?

Published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Data available to the public.

Published in the last decade (or so).

Anglemyer A, Horvath T, and Rutherford G. (2014). The accessibility of >firearms and risk for suicide and homicide victimization among
household members: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of
Internal Medicine.

Bangalore S & Messerli FH. (2013). Gun ownership and firearm-related
deaths. American Journal of Medicine.

Barber C, Cook PJ, Parker ST. (2022). The emerging infrastructure of
US firearms injury data. Preventive medicine.

Benjamin Jr AJ, Kepes S, and Bushman BJ. (2018). Effects of weapons on >aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, hostile appraisals, and
aggressive behavior: A meta-analytic review of the weapons effect
literature. Personality and Social Psychology Review.

Campbell JC, Webster D, Koziol-McLain J, Block C, Campbell D, Curry
MA, Gary F, Glass N, McFarlane J, Sachs C, Sharps P, Ulrich Y, Wilt
SA, Manganello J, Xu X, Schollenberger J, Frye V, & Laughon K. (2003).
Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a
multisite case control study. American Journal of Public Health.

Crifasi CK, Ward J, McCourt AD, Webster D, Doucette ML. (2023).The >association between permit-to-purchase laws and shootings by police.
Injury epidemiology.

Daigle MS. (2005). Suicide prevention through means restriction:
Assessing the risk of substitution. A critical review and synthesis.
Accident Analysis and Prevention.

DeSimone J, Markowitz S, Xu J. (2013). Child access prevention laws
and nonfatal gun injuries. Southern Economic Journal.

Doherty C, Kiley J, Oliphant B, Hartig H, Borelli G, Daniller A, Van
Green T, Cerda A, Gracia S, and Lin K. (2023). For most U.S. gun
owners, protection is the main reason they own a gun. Pew Research
Center.

Donohue JJ, Aneja A, & Weber KD. (2019). Right?to?carry laws and
violent crime: A comprehensive assessment using panel data and a
state?level synthetic control analysis. Journal of Empirical Legal
Studies.

Doucette ML, McCourt AD, Crifasi CK, & Webster DW. (2023). Impact of
changes to concealed-carry weapons laws on fatal and nonfatal violent
crime, 1980-2019. American Journal of Epidemiology.

Doucette ML, Ward JA, McCourt AD, Webster D, Crifasi CK. (2022). >Officer-involved shootings and concealed carry weapons permitting
laws: analysis of gun violence archive data, 2014-2020. Journal of
urban health.

Grinshteyn E & Hemenway D. (2019). Violent death rates in the US
compared to those of the other high-income countries, 2015. Preventive >Medicine.

Gun Ownership in America, 1980-2016. (2020). RAND Corporation.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2000). Lethality of
suicide methods: Case fatality rates by suicide method, 8 U.S. states, >1989-1997.

Hemenway D, Azrael D, and Miller M. (2017). Whose guns are stolen? The >epidemiology of gun theft victims. Injury Epidemiology.

Karp A. (2018). Estimating global civilian-held firearms numbers.
Small Arms Survey.

Kaufman EJ, Karp DN, and Delgado MK. (2017). US emergency department >encounters for law enforcement-associated injury, 2006-2012. Jama
Surgery.

LaFrance A. (2016). The Americans who stockpile guns. The Atlantic.

Lethality of suicide methods. Means Matter. Harvard T.H.Chan School of
Public Health.

McCarthy J. (2014). More than six in 10 Americans say guns make homes
safer. Gallup.

Miller M and Azrael D. (2022). Firearm storage in US households with >children. JAMA Network.

O'Toole M, Szkola J, and Burd-Sharps S. (2022). Gun thefts from cars:
the largest source of stolen guns. Everytown Research and Policy.

One in Five American Households Purchased a Gun During the Pandemic.
(2022). NORC at the University of Chicago.

Owens D, Horrocks J, & House A. (2002). Fatal and non-fatal repetition
of self-harm. Systematic review. British Journal of Psychiatry.

Reeping PM, Cerdá M, Kalesan B, Wiebe DJ, Galea S, and Branas CC.
(2019). State gun laws, gun ownership, and mass shootings in the US:
Cross sectional time series. British Medical Journal.

Schaeffer K. (2023). Key facts about Americans and guns. Pew Research
Center.

Schnippel K, Burd-Sharps S, Miller T, Lawrence B, Swedler DL. (2021). >Nonfatal firearm injuries by intent in the United States: 2016-2018
Hospital Discharge Records from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization
Project. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency
Care with Population Health.

Siegel M and Rothman EF. (2016). Firearm ownership and suicide rates
among US men and women, 1981-2013. American Journal of Public Health.

Siegel M, Ross CS, and King C. (2014). Examining the relationship
between the prevalence of guns and homicide rates in the USA using a
new and improved state-level gun ownership proxy. Injury Prevention.

Tate J, Jenkins J, & Rich S. (2021). Fatal Force. Washington Post.

Three-year average, 2019-2021. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of
Death.

Three-year average, 2019-2021. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of
Death.

Villarreal, S., Kim, R., Wagner, E., Somayaji, N., Davis, A., &
Crifasi, C. K. (2024). Gun Violence in the United States 2022:
Examining the Burden Among Children and Teens. Johns Hopkins Center
for Gun Violence Solutions. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health.

Webster DW, Starnes M. (2000). Reexamining the association between
child access prevention gun laws and unintentional shooting deaths of >children. Pediatrics.

Webster DW, Vernick JS, Zeoli AM, and Manganello JA. (2004).
Association between youth-focused firearm laws and youth suicides.
JAMA Network.

Zeoli AM, Malinski R, & Turchan B. (2016). Risks and targeted
interventions: Firearms in intimate partner violence. Epidemiologic
Reviews.

Bralla Bralla Sooit

Reading through the scientific literature (Intro, Methodology,
Conclusion), I see some themes emerging. The community seems to be in agreement on some basic facts:

There is no positive correlation between arming oneself and personal
safety. The studies are either neutral or find that gun ownership
correlates with a greater probability of being a victim of violence.

There are *far* more crimes committed with firearms than there are
defensive uses. This one is tricky because, although we know how many
violent gun crimes are committed, we simply have no way even to
estimate the number of defensive uses. (Current surveys tend to show
many defensive uses; however, none of these are validated.)

A society's crime rate is more solidly coupled by the population's
acceptance of and faith in the country's legislative process than it
is by gun proliferation.

Those are a few of my current take-aways.

Bralla Bralla Sooit

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