The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #71091

Mona A. Wright, MPH and Garen J. Wintemute, MD, MPH. Violence Prevention Research Program, University of California, Davis, 2315 Stockton Blvd, Western Fairs Bldg, Sacramento, CA 95817, 916/734-3539, mona.wright@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

The California Department of Justice estimates there are 170,000 firearms in the hands of individuals who legally purchased them and because of subsequent criminal activity, become ineligible to possess these weapons. Using a retrospective cohort study we determine the rate of ineligibility for gun ownership among handgun purchasers. We identified 7257 individuals age 21 to 49 who legally purchased a handgun in California in 1991; 2,762 with a criminal record at the time of purchase and 4,495 without. Cohort members were followed for 5 years after purchase for subsequent criminal activity that would disqualify them from firearm ownership. We calculated incidence rates and conducted a survival analysis. Among those with a criminal history at the time of purchase, 6.9% (189 people) became ineligible to own a firearm within 5 years of purchasing a handgun (5.7% due to a felony conviction; 1.6% a violent misdemeanor conviction). Of the individuals with no history of criminal activity at the time of purchase, 1.2% (46 people) became ineligible to possess a firearm (0.9% for a felony conviction; 0.3% a violent misdemeanor conviction). The rate of new ineligibility was 2.32 per 100,000 person years for those with a criminal history and 0.40 per 100,000 person years for those without. Roughly 8% of our study subjects who legally purchase a handgun become ineligible to possess that weapon within 5 years of purchase.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of this session the participant will have an increased knowledge of policies regarding firearm ownership. They will have information on how and why a legal gun purchaser losses their right to own a weapon. In addition, they will have an estimate of the number of legal gun owners that become ineligible to own their purchased weapon.

Keywords: Firearms, Crime

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.