(Press-News.org) (SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A scientific survey of gun dealers and pawnbrokers in 43 U.S. states has found nearly unanimous support for denying gun purchases based on prior convictions and for serious mental illness with a history of violence or alcohol or drug abuse – conditions that might have prevented Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis from legally purchasing a firearm.
The research, conducted by the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program, is to be published in the Journal of Urban Health.
The research is the third report from the UC Davis' Firearm Licensee Survey, which assessed support among federally licensed firearms retailers for a background check requirement on all firearm transfers and selected criteria for denying handgun purchases.
The survey is believed to be the first of its kind to gather the views of federally licensed firearms dealers and pawnbrokers on important social issues and the firearms business itself.
"Retailers are well aware and concerned that prohibited persons, those with criminal intent and persons at high risk of committing crimes can readily acquire firearms under current conditions," said Garen Wintemute, professor of emergency medicine and director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program. "Our survey was conducted in 2011 prior to mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado; Oak Creek, Wisconsin; Newtown, Connecticut; and the Washington Navy Yard. Levels of concern may now be higher among firearm retailers, as they are among the public in general."
Background checks, additional denial criteria endorsed
The survey found that most respondents (55.4 percent) supported a comprehensive background check requirement, with 37.5 percent strongly favoring it. Of those who favored comprehensive background checks, the strength of their support corresponded to the degree that respondents agreed it is too easy for criminals to get guns, recommended more severe sentences for illegal firearm purchasing and provided higher estimates on the prevalence of illegal gun sales by other retailers.
By wide margins, respondents endorsed three existing policies that deny handgun purchases to individuals convicted of aggravated assault involving a lethal weapon or causing serious injury, armed robbery, or domestic violence. They also strongly supported six of nine potential denial criteria proposed in the survey. The percentage of support for existing (*) or proposed criterion for denial of handgun purchases are detailed below:
*Aggravated assault, involving a lethal weapon or serious injury, 99.1 percent
*Armed robbery, 99.3 percent
*Assault and battery on an intimate partner:/ domestic violence, 79.6 percent
Publicly displaying a firearm in a threatening manner, 84.8 percent
Possession of equipment for illegal drug use, 80.7 percent
Assault and battery, not involving a lethal weapon or serious injury, 67.4 percent
Resisting arrest, 53.1 percent
Alcohol abuse, with repeated cases of alcohol-related violence, 90.1 percent
Alcohol abuse, with repeated cases driving under the influence (DUI) or similar offenses, 70.7 percent
Serious mental illness, with a history of violence, 98.9 percent
Serious mental illness, with a history of alcohol or drug abuse, 97.4 percent
Serious mental illness, but no violence and no alcohol or drug abuse, 91.2 percent
"Respondents very strongly supported an array of criteria for denial of handgun purchase by wide margins and in some cases nearly unanimously," Wintemute said. "Support fell below a two-thirds margin in a single case: resisting arrest."
Informing public policy
As federal and state policies on eligibility to purchase and possess firearms and background check requirements for firearm transfers are undergoing intensive review and, in some cases, modification, the views of gun retailers on illegal gun sales and other criminal activity among buyers and retailers could help legislators devise equitable gun laws.
For example, California's legislature has sent to Governor Brown a bill (SB 755 authored by Senator Lois Wolk) to prevent those with multiple convictions for alcohol-related offenses, such as DUIs, from purchasing and possessing firearms. More than two thirds (70.7 percent) of the retailers endorsed this proposal.
About the survey
Wintemute surveyed 1,601 of 9,720 dealers, pawnbrokers and gunsmiths who sold 50 or more firearms each year. The survey comprised 38 questions and was distributed by mail. The response rate was 36.9 percent. Previously published reports detailed other aspects of the survey, from retailers' views on whether it is too easy for criminals to get guns in America to the frequency of illegal gun-purchase attempts and their perceptions on the willingness of fellow retailers to engage in illegal activity.
###
The research was funded in part with a grant from The California Wellness Foundation. Initial planning also was supported in part with a grant from the Joyce Foundation.
The Violence Prevention Research Program is an organized research program of the University of California, Davis, that conducts leading-edge research to further America's efforts to understand and prevent violence. Since its founding, the program has produced a uniquely rich and informative body of research on the causes, nature and prevention of violence, especially firearm violence. Current areas of emphasis include the prediction of criminal behavior, the effectiveness of waiting period and background-check programs for prospective purchasers of firearms, and the determinants of firearm violence.
Gun retailers strongly support expanded criteria for denying gun purchases, UC Davis survey finds
2013-09-24
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Loyola study assesses use of fingerstick blood sample with i-STAT point-of-care device
2013-09-24
Researchers have determined that fingerstick cardiac troponin I assay testing using thepoint-of-care i-STAT device is not accurate enough to determine the exact troponin level without the application of a corrective term.
The study was funded by the Department of Emergency Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center and was published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.
The study was conducted by Devin Loewenstein, BS, Christine Stake, MA and Mark Cichon, DO of Loyola University Chicago, Department of Emergency Medicine.
"Cardiac tropnin assays commonly ...
Spinning CDs to clean sewage water
2013-09-24
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2013 – Audio CDs, all the rage in the '90s, seem increasingly obsolete in a world of MP3 files and iPods, leaving many music lovers with the question of what to do with their extensive compact disk collections. While you could turn your old disks into a work of avant-garde art, researchers in Taiwan have come up with a more practical application: breaking down sewage. The team will present its new wastewater treatment device at the Optical Society's (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2013, being held Oct. 6-10 in Orlando, Fla.
"Optical ...
Brain may rely on computer-like mechanism to make sense of novel situations, says CU-Boulder study
2013-09-24
Our brains give us the remarkable ability to make sense of situations we've never encountered before—a familiar person in an unfamiliar place, for example, or a coworker in a different job role—but the mechanism our brains use to accomplish this has been a longstanding mystery of neuroscience.
Now, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have demonstrated that our brains could process these new situations by relying on a method similar to the "pointer" system used by computers. "Pointers" are used to tell a computer where to look for information stored elsewhere ...
Reassuring findings for mothers who have influenza vaccine while pregnant
2013-09-24
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Boston University, in collaboration with the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), have found evidence of the H1N1 influenza vaccine's safety during pregnancy. The national study, which was launched shortly after the H1N1 influenza outbreak of 2009, is summarized in two companion papers published online on September 19 in the journal Vaccine.
"The overall results of the study were quite reassuring about the safety of the flu vaccine formulations that contained the pandemic ...
Racial and ethnic disparities exist in ER pain management for children with abdominal pain
2013-09-24
Pediatric researchers have found race- and ethnicity-based disparities in pain management and length of stay among children who came to hospital emergency departments for treatment of abdominal pain. A study team reported on their analysis of a national database of hospital visits in the October issue of Pediatrics.
Overall, black, Hispanic and "other" race children were less likely to receive analgesics than white children. After adjusting for confounders, black patients were less likely to receive any analgesic or a narcotic analgesic than white children. Similarly, ...
Researchers publish enormous catalog of more than 300,000 nearby galaxies
2013-09-24
More than 83,000 volunteer citizen scientists. Over 16 million galaxy classifications. Information on more than 300,000 galaxies. This is what you get when you ask the public for help in learning more about our universe.
The project, named Galaxy Zoo 2, is the second phase of a crowdsourcing effort to categorize galaxies in our universe. Researchers say computers are good at automatically measuring properties such as size and color of galaxies, but more challenging characteristics, such as shape and structure, can currently only be determined by the human eye.
An international ...
Alzheimer's progression tracked prior to dementia
2013-09-24
For years, scientists have attempted to understand how Alzheimer's disease harms the brain before memory loss and dementia are clinically detectable. Most researchers think this preclinical stage, which can last a decade or more before symptoms appear, is the critical phase when the disease might be controlled or stopped, possibly preventing the failure of memory and thinking abilities in the first place.
Important progress in this effort is reported in October in Lancet Neurology. Scientists at the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center at Washington ...
Cross-ethnic friendships in urban middle schools make youths feel less vulnerable, safer
2013-09-24
Friendships matter throughout life, and in early adolescence they provide validation and emotional support. Now a new study has found that friendships across ethnic groups in urban middle schools help protect youths from feeling vulnerable, making them feel less lonely and at the same time safer. As the population of children in the United States grows increasingly diverse, this study has implications for how educators oversee student interactions.
The study, by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, ...
Responsive interactions key to toddlers' ability to learn language
2013-09-24
Young children readily learn words from their parents, grandparents, and child care providers in live conversations, but learning from video has proven more difficult. A new study questioned why and found that it's the responsiveness of the interactions that's key: When we respond to children in timely and meaningful ways, they learn—even when that response comes from a screen.
The study, by researchers at the University of Washington, Temple University, and the University of Delaware, appears in the journal Child Development.
Three dozen 2-year-olds were randomly assigned ...
Playing with blocks may help children's spatial and math thinking
2013-09-24
Playing with blocks may help preschoolers develop the kinds of skills that support later learning in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), according to a new study by researchers at the University of Delaware and Temple University. And for low-income preschoolers, who lag in spatial skills, such play may be especially important.
The study is published in the journal Child Development.
More than a hundred 3-year-olds of various socioeconomic levels took part in the study. Children who were better at copying block structures were also better at early math, ...