Association of Minimum Age Laws for Handgun Purchase and Possession With Homicides Perpetrated by Young Adults Aged 18 to 20 Years.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Laws mandating a minimum age to purchase or possess firearms are viewed as a potentially effective policy tool to reduce homicide by decreasing young adults' access to firearms.

Objective

To evaluate whether state laws that raised the minimum age to purchase and/or possess a handgun to 21 years were associated with lower rates of firearm homicide perpetrated by young adults aged 18 to 20 years.

Design, setting, and participants

In this difference-in-differences analysis of a national cohort, young adult-perpetrated homicide rates were compared between states that did and did not implement stricter minimum age laws than the 1994 federal statute, adjusting for state-level factors. Under 1994 US federal law, the minimum age to purchase a handgun from a license

SUBMITTER: Moe CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7489426 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature