Citation

Klarevas L, Conner A, Hemenway D. Am. J. Public Health 2019; 109(12): 1754-1761.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2019.305311

PMID

31622147

PMCID

PMC6836798

Abstract

OBJECTIVEs. To evaluate the effect of large-capacity magazine (LCM) bans on the frequency and lethality of high-fatality mass shootings in the United States., Methods. We analyzed state panel data of high-fatality mass shootings from 1990 to 2017. We first assessed the relationship between LCM bans overall, and then federal and state bans separately, on (1) the occurrence of high-fatality mass shootings (logit regression) and (2) the deaths resulting from such incidents (negative binomial analysis). We controlled for 10 independent variables, used state fixed effects with a continuous variable for year, and accounted for clustering., Results. Between 1990 and 2017, there were 69 high-fatality mass shootings. Attacks involving LCMs resulted in a 62% higher mean average death toll. The incidence of high-fatality mass shootings in non-LCM ban states was more than double the rate in LCM ban states; the annual number of deaths was more than 3 times higher. In multivariate analyses, states without an LCM ban experienced significantly more high-fatality mass shootings and a higher death rate from such incidents., Conclusions. LCM bans appear to reduce both the incidence of, and number of people killed in, high-fatality mass shootings.

Language: en