Musings About the Media and Gun Violence

1. Musings About the Media and Gun Violence HF Guggenhein Symposium Crime in America John Jay Panel David Hemenway, February 1, 2011

2. Summary of Academic Literature on Guns

3. U.S. Public woefully misinformed about most things including guns and violence • Most information comes from schools and media

4. Raised in 1950s Ozzie and Harriet Leave It To Beaver

5. Naïve Ideal World: • Media conducts surveys about what public knows • Act together to improve public knowledge

6. Media’s Role • Media does not provide an epidemiologically correct view of world • 300+ million Americans • 6+ billion people

7. Misperceptions Matter: • (e.g. self-fulfilling prophesies) • If people think neighborhood unsafe, no one goes there, businesses languish, etc. • Adolescents misperceptions about adolescent smoking, binge drinking, sex, and gun carrying

8. Misperceptions Matter (cont.) • Most Americans seem to believe we have licensing and registration laws • Given level of gun violence, these laws clearly not working NO SUCH LAWS EXIST

9. Media Can Change Attitudes • Designated Driver Campaign • Motor Vehicle Crash Stories • Wear seat belts • Alcohol involved • Gun Stories • Where did the gun come from? • What kind of world do we want to live in?

10. My Own Pet Peeves at Media • Parochialism • No one outside the US can understand US • Winning gun control argument outside US • “Do you want to end up like the US?” • Don’t understand what an outlier the US really is • Plus role in fueling gun violence worldwide

11. Homicide, Suicide, and Unintentional Gun Deaths among 5-14 year olds: The United States vs. 25 Other High Income Populous Countries, early 2003 Yet U.S. has average rates of all other crime victims Richardson & Hemenway J Trauma 2011

12. My Pet Peeves 2. Simplistic view of the world: Black/White a.) pro gun vs. anti-gun Pro public health not: anti-car anti-swimming pool anti-stairs a1.) gun rights advocates vs. …?

13. My Pet Peeves 2. Simplistic view of the world: Black/White (cont.) b.) Guns everywhere vs. No guns “Gun Control” equals banning handguns Policy Spectrum

14. My Pet Peeves 2. Simplistic view of the world: Black/White (cont.) c.) Criminals and Decent, Law-Abiding Citizens “Bad Guys” and “Good Guys” In Arizona, a “good guy” with legal and easy access to all firearms He would not have gotten access in other countries.

15. E.g. Canada Law Acquisition of a Handgun • Firearms License • Proof of legitimate purpose • Criminal background check • Training certificate • 2 references who sign application • 28 day waiting period • Handgun magazine restricted to 10 rounds

16. My Pet Peeves 2. Simplistic view of the world: Black/White (cont.) d.) Guns are only thing that matters, or guns don’t matter at all • Urban-rural • Switzerland, Israel • Canada- Bowling for Columbine

17. My Pet Peeves 2. Simplistic view of the world: Black/White (cont.) e.) Gun control works perfectly or doesn’t work at all “Germany had a school shooting, doesn’t that prove gun control is ineffective?”

18. My Pet Peeves 3. Argument by Anecdote • Washington, DC • “My father never smoked, yet died of heart disease” • “Japanese smoke more than US, yet have lower rates of heart disease”

19. Anecdotes vs. Studies Violent Deaths High-gun States vs. Low-gun States, 2001-2004, U.S. Children (aged 5-14) The 15 States with the highest average levels of household gun ownership (based on the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) were WY, MT, AK, SD, AR, WV, AL, ID, MS, ND, KY, WI, SC, UT, and LA. The 6 States with the lowest average gun levels were HI, MA, RI, NJ, CT, and NY. Source: WISQARS

20. My Pet Peeves 4. “Both Sides” 20 studies vs. 1 study Science vs. she said/he said

21. Effect of Repeals of Motorcycle Helmet Laws

22. How Can Academics Help Media?

23. What we are currently doing: • Firearms Research Digest: • A searchable database of summaries of all academic firearm articles • www. firearmsresearch.org

24. What we are currently doing: 2. Bulletins • Comparing the Incidence of Self-Defense Gun Use and Criminal Gun Use • Carrying Concealed Weapons (CCW) Laws: From “May Issue” to “Shall Issue”

25. WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO?

26. “While We Were Sleeping”Success Stories in Injury PreventionU Cal Press (2009) David Hemenway, PhD. Harvard Injury Control Research Center Harvard School of Public Health

27. Importance of Firearms Trace Data • Many gun policies focus on preventing the diversion of guns from the legal to illegal markets. • Trace data allow monitoring of these diversions. Brief interval (e.g., < 1 year) from retail sale to crime by non-purchaser is marker for illegal diversion. • Report of crime gun trace data showing Milwaukee gun dealer’s contribution to crime guns led dealer to stop selling junk guns. Diversions dropped 73% (Webster, Vernick, Bulzacchelli, 2006). • Trace data used to identify gun dealers to target for undercover stings and lawsuits which were followed by sharp reductions in guns diverted to criminals (Webster, Vernick, Bulzacchelli, Zeoli 2006).

28. Importance of Firearms Trace Data • Trafficking indicators negatively associated with state policies regulating private sales and oversight of retail sellers (Webster, Vernick, Bulzacchelli, 2009) • States with comprehensive gun sales regulations have very few in-state guns used in crime (Webster, Vernick, Hepburn, 2001). • Absence of gun seller accountability policies associated with greater exporting of crime guns to other states (Mayors Against Illegal Guns, 2010). • If trace data wasn’t important to industry accountability, the gun lobby wouldn’t have made hiding gun data a priority in passing the Tiahrt amendments.