Criminals keep access to guns

Image by Ian Carroll (Creative Commons / Flickr)

Image by Ian Carroll (Creative Commons / Flickr)

California is one of 23 states that restricts firearm access for people who have been convicted of felonies and violent or gun-related misdemeanors, including those convicted of domestic violence. What does this restricted access mean? Domestic violence restraining order respondents are supposed to surrender their guns to a law enforcement agency or sell them to a licensed firearms dealer within 24 hours after the order is served. In 2007, a new law required respondents to surrender their firearms immediately if a law enforcement officer demanded so.

In reality, this restricted access is rarely enforced. Although domestic violence felons are restricted from firearm purchases from licensed dealers, the other parts of the law about surrendering or selling guns are ignored, leaving firearms in the hands of people who have been convicted of dangerous crimes.

In this study, researchers evaluated a law enforcement pilot program that screens recipients of domestic violence restraining orders and recovers their firearms. The program occurred in California’s San Mateo and Butte Counties from 2007 to 2010. Law enforcement used multiple databases to check firearm ownership: California’s Automated Firearms System, assault weapons registrations, and concealed weapon permit applications. They used descriptive statistics to assess the screening and recovery process.

The findings are cause for concern. No single source of information was adequate to enforce the law’s provision of recovering firearms. Each database identified less than half the respondents linked to firearms. In San Mateo County, 525 respondents (17%) were linked to firearms, and in Butte County, 88 respondents  (31.1%) were linked to firearms.  Of those served with a restraining order due to domestic violence that were linked to firearms, many managed to retain them—only 22.7% were actually recovered in San Mateo County and 51.1% in Butte County.

Commentary

According to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 35% of women have experienced intimate partner violence. Most intimate partner homicides involve firearms, and with more than 1,000 women murdered in 2011 by their partners this is not a problem we can ignore. We need to help women and their families free themselves from violence. Enforcing existing laws, such as this California recovery law, is one way to reduce gun violence.

People who have been convicted of violence or firearms-related misdemeanors are at a higher risk than the general population of committing violent or firearms-related crimes. However, federal law does not prohibit this population from purchasing guns. Comprehensive background checks are a reasonable and widely supported step to keep dangerous people from accessing dangerous firearms.

More research is needed to learn about ways to prevent gun violence. Unfortunately, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has applied political pressure to prevent the CDC from funding firearm injury research, gun control, or advocacy efforts. The NRA’s lobbyists defend powerful gun manufacturers at every opportunity, putting us all at risk.

Wintemute, G.J. et al. AJPH. 2013. 104 (2): e113-e118.

by

Bich-May Nguyen, MD, MPH

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