Gun Carrying

We surveyed 7th and 10th graders in inner city schools in Boston and Milwaukee.  We found that almost a quarter of 7th grade boys had already carried a gun, illegally.  The overwhelming reason for carrying was self-protection.  While guns were easily acquired, the large majority of respondents, and even the majority of those who had already carried a gun, wanted to live in a society where it was impossible for teens to get guns.

Hemenway, David; Prothrow-Stith, Deborah, Bergstein, Jack M; Ander, Roseanna; Kennedy, Bruce.  Gun carrying among adolescents.  Law and Contemporary Problems.  1996; 59:39-53.

Bergstein, Jack M; Hemenway, David; Kennedy, Bruce; Quaday, Sher; Ander, Roseanna.  Guns in young hands: A survey of urban teenagers’ attitudes and behaviors related to handgun violence.  Journal of Trauma.  1996; 41:794-798.

Using data from the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior survey, we analyzed risk factors for adolescent gun carrying. We found that a simple objective measure – whether a student is old for their grade – is an important predictor of gun carrying. This fact may help clinicians identify high-risk students and target prevention strategies.

Hayes, D Neil; Hemenway, David. Age-within-school-class and adolescent gun carrying. Pediatrics electronic pages. 1999; 103:e64.

This paper uses data from two national random-digit-dial surveys to examine public attitudes about gun carrying. By a margin of 5 to 1, Americans feel less safe rather than safer as more people in their community begin to carry guns. By margins of at least 9 to 1, Americans do not believe that regular citizens should be allowed to bring their guns into restaurants, college campuses, sports stadium, bars, hospitals or government buildings.

Hemenway, David; Azrael, Deborah; Miller, Matthew. U.S. national attitudes concerning gun carrying. Injury Prevention. 2001; 7:282-285.

We analyzed data from over 1,800 youth in Chicago examining risk factors for adolescent gun carrying.  We found that aspects of the neighborhood (social disorder, safety, collective efficacy) were important predictors of illegal gun carrying by youth.

Molnar, Beth; Miller, Matthew; Azrael, Deborah; Buka Steven.  Neighborhood predictors of concealed firearm carrying among children and adolescents.  Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine.  2004; 158:657-64.

We analyzed data from interviews of over 200 young men and women at the Rhode Island Correctional Institution.  We found that selling crack was highly associated with gun carrying; using hard drugs was not.  Findings provide further evidence of a crack-gun connection.

Kacanek, Deborah; Hemenway, David.  Gun carrying and drug selling among youth incarcerated men and women.  Journal of Urban Health.  2006; 83:266-74.

We analyzed data from a random survey conducted in 2008 of over 1,700 high school students in Boston. Over 5% of students reported carrying a gun, 9% of boys and 2% of girls. Students substantially overestimated the percentage of their peers who carried guns and the likelihood that a respondent carried a gun was strongly associated with his perception of the level of peer gun carrying.

Hemenway, David; Vriniotis, Mary; Johnson, Rene M; Miller, Matthew; Azrael, Deborah. Gun carrying by high school students in Boston, MA: Does overestimation of peer gun carrying matter? Journal of Adolescence. 2011; 34:997-1003

This is the first study to examine when, in may-issue states, the police use discretion to refuse to issue a permit. Our survey of police chiefs in Massachusetts found that chiefs issued few discretionary denials – median 2 per year. Common reasons for denial were providing false information, a history of assault (e.g., IPV), a history of drug or alcohol abuse, or mental-health issues. Allowing such individuals to legally carry firearms will not enhance public safety.

Local police chiefs typically know more about the people in their community than does a national computer.

Hemenway D, Hicks JG. “May issue” gun carrying laws and police discretion: Some evidence from Massachusetts. Journal of Public Health Policy. 2015; 36:324-34.

Using data on high school students from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey for years 2007, 2009, and 2011, youth were more likely to carry guns in states with weak gun laws and many guns.  Across states, strong gun laws are associated with a lower likelihood of youth gun carrying.

This article provides evidence on another of the society-level costs of weak gun laws and high levels of household gun ownership.

Xuan Z, Hemenway D.  State gun law environment and youth gun carrying in the United States.  JAMA Pediatrics.  2015; 11:1-9.

HICRC’s national firearm survey finds that 24% of handgun owners report carrying loaded handguns in the past 30 days. Handgun owners living in “shall issue” states were far more likely to report carrying than gun owners living in “may issue” states.

Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali; Azrael, Deborah; Lyons, Vivian; Simonetti, Joseph; Miller, Matthew. Loaded handgun carrying among US adults, 2015. American Journal of Public Health 2017; 107(12): 1930-36.

Using data from HICRC’s nationally representative on-line survey conducted in 2015, we find that fewer than 20% of respondents support gun carrying in schools, bars or sports stadiums. In no location, including restaurants, service settings, retail stores, college campuses, places of worship, and government buildings, did even a third of Americans support gun carrying. These views contrast sharply with the current trend in state legislatures to expand the locations where individuals can legally carry guns.

Wolfson, Julia; Teret, Stephen; Azrael, Deborah; Miller, Matthew. The article appears online in the American Journal of Public Health. 2017; 107:929-37.

Data from the HICRC surveys of Boston high school students show that adolescent depression is associated with carrying guns to school and that social connectedness—positive relationships between the youth and adults—appears to reduce the likelihood of school gun carrying.

Juan SC, Hemenway D. From depression to youth school gun carrying in America: Social connectedness may help break the link. Cogent Social Science. 2017 Apr 7;3(1):1314877.

This scoping review identified 53 relevant peer-reviewed journal articles on adolescent gun carrying, and agreed on seven important research priorities.

Oliphant SN, Mouch CA, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Hargarten S, Jay J, Hemenway D, Zimmerman M, Carter PM. A scoping review of patterns, motives, and risk and protective factors for adolescent firearm carriage. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 2019; 42:SI763-810.

With data from our 2019 National Firearm Survey, we found that 30-33% of handgun owners carried a gun concealed monthly in shall issue and permitless carry states, compared to 15% in may issue states. The number of handgun owners carrying in the past month increased from 9 million in 2015 to 16 million in 2019.

Rowhani-Rahbar A, Gallagher A, Azrael D, Miller M. Trend in loaded handgun carrying among adult handgun owners in the United States, 2015-2019. American Journal of Public Health. 2022; 112:1783-1790