Firearm Policies and Programs

Reduced Incidence of Arrest Following an Extreme Risk Protection Order Among Respondents in California

“Extreme risk protection orders are often talked about as a way to prevent suicide, but our findings show they may do more than that. People subject to these orders in California were less likely to be arrested for violence or other crimes while the orders were in effect and even after they ended, suggesting ERPOs have a meaningful role to play in preventing interpersonal violence.”

-Veronica Pear, assistant professor and lead author

Background check database

Database Summary

The Background Check and Licensing Policies for Firearm Purchase Database includes state-level data from 1980-2019 on factors relevant to the design, implementation, and enforcement of background checks and licensing policies for firearm transfers. This includes policy details (e.g. fingerprinting required, license duration), information about related policies (e.g. state prohibiting criteria), and criminal history database details. Data are collated from multiple public sources.

Effects of implementing permissive campus carry laws

AbstractBACKGROUND

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which ruled a New York concealed-carry permitting requirement unconstitutional, laws restricting the public carrying of firearms in “sensitive places,” like college campuses, have received increasing attention. However, there is little evidence for whether permissive campus carry policies increase firearm violence or, via deterrence, reduce general crime on campus.

The origins of California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order law

Abstract

BACKGROUND

 

Firearm violence is a major public health problem in the United States, yet most states lack a mechanism to temporarily remove firearms from individuals who are at high and imminent risk of harming themselves or others and are not otherwise prohibited. Extreme risk protection order (ERPO) laws are intended to close this gap. The current study examines the passage of California’s gun violence restraining order (GVRO) bill using Kingdon’s multiple streams framework.

METHODS

Gun free zones in alcohol‑serving establishments and risk for firearm violence

Abstract 

To date, there have been no peer-reviewed studies in the United States estimating the impact of gun-free zone policies in alcohol-serving establishments on rates of firearm violence in and around such establishments. In this study, we utilized a crossectional design to estimate the impact of Texas’s 51% alcohol law, which prohibits the carrying of firearms in establishments that generate over half of their revenue from alcohol sales.

Study suggests gun-free zones do not attract mass shootings

News Preview

UC Davis Health News covered the publication of new CVP research that used a unique study design to compare the risk of active shootings in gun-free zones as compared to gun-allowing establishments. “After accounting for matched pairs, our analyses showed that active shootings were 62.5% less likely to occur in gun-free establishments than in gun-allowing places,” said Paul Reeping, lead author of the study and CVP postdoctoral scholar.