Relevant Publications

Predictors of ATF Inspections of FFLs and Subsequent Violations

Paul Reeping, Grace Killian, Ariana N. Gobaud, Christina Mehranbod, Sonali Rajan, Injury Prevention, 2026. Study examining federal firearms licensee (FFL) inspection practices, finding that the likelihood of inspection and subsequent violations is influenced by socioeconomic and demographic factors as well as state firearm law permissiveness. 

Firearm Violence in Peril: A Call to Defend Our Public Safety Infrastructure

Douglas C. Semenza, Therese S. Richmond, Sonali Rajan, Marian E. Betz, Charles C. Branas, Shani A. L. Buggs, Stephen Hargarten, Joan Richardson, Frederick P. Rivara, Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, Tamera L. Sharpe, Daniel W. Webster, Jose M. Pizarro, American Journal of Public Health, 2025. This commentary calls for sustained federal investment in firearm violence prevention research, arguing that weakening public health infrastructure threatens progress in understanding and preventing gun violence and emphasizing the importance of evidence-based policy and surveillance systems.

More Gun Regulation, Less Firearm Harm

Louis Klarevas, BMJ, 2024. Editorial summarizing evidence that restrictive firearm policies — including more comprehensive background checks, child access prevention laws, and other regulatory measures — are associated with lower firearm mortality and harm. 

State Firearm Laws, Gun Ownership, and K-12 School Shootings: Implications for School Safety

Paul M. Reeping, Louis J. Klarevas, Sonali Rajan, Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, Justin Heinze, April M. Zeoli, Monika K. Goyal, Marc Zimmerman, Charles C. Branas, Journal of School Violence, 2022. Analysis showed that more permissive state firearm laws and higher rates of gun ownership were associated with higher rates of both school shootings and active school shootings after controlling for key factors. 

Background Checks for All Gun Buyers and Gun Violence Restraining Orders: State Efforts to Keep Guns from High-Risk Persons

Jon S. Vernick, Ted Alcorn, Joshua Horwitz, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, March 2017. This policy commentary reviews state-level regulatory efforts — including universal background check laws and gun violence restraining orders — designed to make it harder for high-risk individuals to purchase or possess firearms, and discusses early evidence on associations between these laws and reductions in homicide and suicide.

A Comparison and Analysis of Seven Gun Law Permissiveness Scales

Paul M. Reeping, Christopher N. Morrison, Kara E. Rudolph, Monika Goyal, Charles C. Branas, Injury Epidemiology, 2021. This study compares widely used measures of firearm law permissiveness, highlighting differences in how policy environments are quantified and interpreted and underscoring the importance of measurement selection in firearm policy research.

Gunning for the Masses: How the NRA Builds Power

Lacombe M, 2021

Firearm Homicide Incidence, Within-State Firearm Laws, and Interstate Firearm Laws in US Counties

Morrison CN, Kaufman EJ, Humphreys DK, Wiebe DJ, Epidemiology, 2020.

Firearm Laws and Illegal Firearm Flow Between US States

Andrade EG, Hoofnagle MH, Kaufman E, Seamon MJ, Pah AR, Morrison CN, The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2020

Gun Ownership as a Social Identity: Estimating Behavioral and Attitudinal Relationships

Lacombe MJ, Howat AJ, Rothschild JE, Social Science Quarterly, 2019

State Firearm Laws and Interstate Firearm Deaths From Homicide and Suicide in the United States: A Cross-sectional Analysis of Data by County

Kaufman E, Morrison CN, Branas C, Wiebe DJ, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2018

Preemption and Commandeering Without Congress

Bulman-Pozen J, Stanford Law Review, 2018

Amicus Brief for Federal Courts, Scholars, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Versus New York City

Firearm Legislation and Firearm Mortality in the USA: A Cross-Sectional, State-Level Study

Kalesan B, Mobily ME, Keiser O, Fagan J, Galea S, The Lancet, 2016