We present the epidemiologic history of firearms in the United States. Firearms are among the nation's ten leading causes of death. Nearly one million firearm deaths occurred in the half-century 1933-1982. Suicide is the leading type of firearm death. Teenagers, young adults, and males 75 years old and older are currently at highest risk. An individual's risk of suffering a firearm death has ge...

In response to rising rates of firearms violence that peaked in the mid-1990s, a wide range of policy interventions have been developed in an attempt to reduce violent crimes committed with firearms. Although some of these approaches appear to be effective at reducing gun violence, methodological variations make comparing effects across program evaluations difficult. Accordingly, in this articl...

Received June 29, 2013; Accepted July 9, 2013. From the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University o School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA (Nance), Lucile Pack Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Pa (Krummel), and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Medi Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (Oldham). Correspondence address: Michael L Nance, MD, FAC Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pe...

The results obtained by employing a usual technique for latent prints development on firearms are presented. A fingermark on a trigger was enhanced and this print was used to identify the person who handled the firearm. Indeed, it is not usual to find a useful fingermark in that position and, more in general, on firearms because of many different factors described in the following sections. The...

Scientific Publications on Firearms in Youth Before andAfter Congressional Action Prohibiting Federal Research Funding In January1996,Congresspassedanappropriationsbill amendment prohibiting the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fromusing“fundsmadeavailable for injuryprevention . . . toadvocateorpromoteguncontrol.”1Thisprovision was triggered by evidence linking gun ownership ...

This paper describes our current work to create the apparatus and methodology for scientific and repeatable collection of firearm acoustical properties, including the important direction-dependence of each firearm’s sound field. Gunshot acoustical data is collected for a wide range of firearms using an elevated shooting platform and an elevated spatial array of microphones to allow echo-free di...

In 1999, the Department of the Navy (DoN) began a suicide surveillance program using the DoN Suicide Incident Report (DONSIR) to collect data on completed suicides in the Navy and Marine Corps. The DONSIR significantly advances the capability of DoN to track and analyze data on completed suicides over time. The long-term goal of this program is to improve suicide prevention by identifying and m...

Increasing public attention has been devoted in the past several years to gun-related injuries. Some of the concern has centered on the safety of individuals, especially and understandably on children, who live in homes with guns. The proper role of physicians in contributing to child safety at home (and elsewhere) is an important, albeit controversial, topic (1). However, gun safety is also a ...