Study: firearms licenses further reduce the number of firearm deaths than background checks



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June 13 (UPI) – States currently use three criteria to exclude persons who are prohibited from owning a firearm. A new study suggests that one is more effective than others in preventing firearm deaths.

Armed violence is less common in states that require prospective firearms buyers than they apply for a license, according to a white paper published by the Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Policy on Firearms .

States normally require that firearm buyers pass either background checks prescribed by the federal government, be subject to thorough audits of purchases by private parties or receive a background check, as well A license or permit.

"Licenses differ greatly from conventional background checks," Cassandra Crifasi, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Firearms Research Center and lead author of the study, said in a statement. "Comprehensive background checks are a necessary part of any system designed to protect firearms from prohibited persons, but they are not enough to reduce the number of firearm-related deaths without an additional licensing system for buyers. "

In states that require a license to own a firearm, a prospective purchaser must apply for it through a law enforcement agency, submit to a background check, submit frequently fingerprints and, in some states, receive training in firearms safety. These states generally have longer waiting periods, conduct more rigorous background checks, and give law enforcement agencies more time to conduct these audits.

On the other hand, mandatory background checks require that a firearm buyer only check the track record when he wants to buy a firearm at a particular location. authorized dealer.

While states that require extensive background checks, but no weapon license has fewer weapons used to commit crimes, there is no significant decrease in the total number of firearm deaths .

In fact, a study on homicides in Missouri increased by 27% in 2016 after the repeal of its 2007 handgun buyer license act.

According to the study, on the other hand, firearm deaths have fallen sharply. In Connecticut, for example, firearm homicides have dropped 40% and firearms suicides by 15% since the enactment of a state licensing law in 1995, according to previous research of the authors.

"The most likely reasons for which we see impacts on homicides and suicides with a firearm are a license and not a complete background check without a license center on the more direct interface between potential buyers and the forces of order and on more robust systems of background checks, "said Daniel Webster, director of Center for Gun Policy and Research Johns Hopkins. "These procedures may deter people who might otherwise make impulsive decisions to acquire a firearm to injure themselves or others."

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