Waiting Periods Do Reduce Gun Deaths
An interesting takeaway from a new gun research : Introducing a waiting period between the start of a gun purchase and the close of a sale significantly reduces gun deaths. A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , shows that in 17 states (including DC), where the waiting period is between three and 14 days kills firearm is reduced by about 17%, or 750 deaths … in year.
Three Harvard Business School professors tracked policy changes from 1970 to 2014, as well as some data on gun violence: the impact of federal law that introduced waiting periods in some states on gun purchases from 1994 to 1998. They found that even short waiting periods “result in a significant and statistically significant reduction in homicide”; waiting periods also reduce suicide rates, although the effect is not that great.
Why firearm deaths decline with waiting periods is not entirely clear, but it seems to have something to do with a “cool-down” period – if you are angry with your neighbor but have to wait a week before you can actually point a gun at him, you can in the meantime, relax. “Visceral factors such as anger or suicidal impulses can induce people to harm others or themselves, but are usually transient conditions,” the authors note.
The researchers concluded that extending the waiting period to all 50 states would save an additional 910 lives per year. The authors note that most Americans support waiting periods, and that legislation allowing for this cooling off period “will thus reduce gun violence without imposing any restrictions on who can own a gun.”