A key issue in the debate over gun control is how it will affect the relative incentives of criminals and law-abiding citizens to acquire guns. We propose a simple model of interaction of criminals and lawabiding citizens as a contest where the parties arm themselves in order to improve their chances of having an upper hand in an encounter. We study the effect of various gun control policies on...

In this Article, we seek to help guide law enforcement activities targeting gun acquisition by high-risk people by examining two potentially important sources of crime guns: licensed retail dealers and traffickers. Limited data availability is a key reason more is not currently known about how criminals obtain guns. This Article assembles a unique dataset that combines five years (2009–2013) of...

OBJECTIVES To present the prevalence of gun ownership among batterers and describe their self-reported use of guns to threaten intimate partners. METHODS We used multivariate methods to analyze data from 8529 men enrolled in Massachusetts certified batterer intervention programs between 1999 and 2003. RESULTS Seven percent of the sample reported owning guns during the past 3 years. Recent g...

Advocacy groups on both sides of the guns issue frequently point to changing personal behavior--of both parents and children--as a key element in reducing gun violence among youth. Efforts to bring about these changes range from community-based campaigns, to laws and programs that encourage parents to store their guns safely, to educational initiatives that focus on keeping young children away ...

OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of a 1988 Maryland law that banned "Saturday night special" handguns on the types of guns used in crime. To determine if controls on the lawful market for handguns affect the illegal market as well. SETTING Baltimore, Maryland, and 15 other US cities participating in a crime gun tracing project. METHODS Cross sectional comparison of the proportion of crim...

CONTEXT Despite the wide availability of guns in the United States, not all delinquent adolescents own guns and not all adolescent gun owners carry them at all times. Research about the factors that prevent high-risk youth from acquiring and carrying guns is limited. OBJECTIVE To determine, from the perspective of incarcerated adolescent males, factors that prevent acquiring or carrying guns,...