The work by two Wellesley College economists tackles one of the biggest questions in gun research: how to measure the relationship between gun prevalence and gun deaths. They launched their study after seeing a chart in a newspaper showing the sharp upturn in gun sales after Sandy Hook. They then compared that number to two databases of deaths nationwide, which showed a 27 percent increase in accidental gun deaths for all ages and a 64 percent increase among children during that period. The study found that accidental gun deaths increased, but the surge in gun sales had almost no effect on homicides and suicides that were intentionally committed — and that make up the lion's share of gun deaths in America. One nagging point, he noted, is that while the spike in gun sales after Sandy Hook was significant, it only added a small amount of guns to the country's total gun stock.

Source: Washington Post December 07, 2017 19:06 UTC