Policy research on firearms and violence.

The connection between firearms and violence has not received adequate research attention in the past. This paper proposes a research agenda that should explore (1) the effects of firearm use on the costs of violence; (2) the extent to which particular interventions can reduce the cost of violence by limiting use of firearms; and (3) the extent to which the benefits derived from firearm interventions are worth their public and private costs. The author identifies three priority research issues: the relationship between firearms and suicide; how to design interventions to reduce firearm use in violence; and how to evaluate the long-range costs and benefits of gun controls. Public health researchers can investigate many of the key issues in firearms and violence, but only if they expand their knowledge about guns and gun controls.