Citation

Cole TB. J. Am. Med. Assoc. JAMA 2005; 293(6): 667.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jama.293.6.667

PMID

15701900

Abstract

Better scientific evidence is needed to address critical questions about firearms and violence, according to a recent report from the National Research Council (NRC), "Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review" (http://books.nap.edu/catalog/10881.html). Answers to some of the most pressing questions cannot be addressed with existing data and research methods, concludes the NRC's Committee on Law and Justice, which prepared the report.

Much has been learned about the association between owning a firearm and its use in suicide, frequency of defensive gun use, and the effectiveness of targeted police interventions to reduce gun violence, noted the group, which specifically discussed the available evidence on topics such as right-to-carry firearms laws, firearms and suicide, firearm injury prevention programs, and criminal justice interventions to reduce firearm violence. But much of firearm research has been undermined by a lack of reliable data and weak study methods.