According to a national study, the number of Americans carrying loaded handguns has doubled in the last two years.
There has been an increase in handgun carrying in the US between increases in the number of people who own handguns and the number of people who carry every day.
The US has the most firearms of any country. Studies show how guns cause harm in the US.
Only a handful of peer-reviewed national surveys on the gun-carrying behaviors of firearm owners have been completed in the past 30 years.
To understand how often firearm owners carry a handgun and why, the researchers surveyed nearly 2,400 Americans living in households with firearms.
Based on the study's findings, the team estimates that 6 million handgun owners carried a handgun on their person every day in 2019.
When gun violence increased in the US as psychological, economic, and social stressors increased, it put further strain on an already overburdened health system.
According to Rowhani-Rahbar and colleagues, 3 in 10 handgun owners carried a loaded handgun on their person in the past 30 days.
The majority of the 2,389 handgun owners were white, male and aged 18 to 44.
The study found that personal protection is now the main reason why three-quarters of firearm owners carry a loaded handgun.
Research shows that the possession of more guns doesn't make people any safer than they are. The introduction of stricter gun control laws has saved lives, according to past studies. There is a marked relaxation in legislation that coincides with the increased prevalence of handguns in the US.
State laws governing who can carry handguns in public places have been loosened. Only one state in the US allowed people to carry a loaded handgun on their person without a permit.
The proportion of US firearm owners who receive formal firearm training has not changed over the past two decades.
The study suggests that carrying a gun in public may be responsive to the laws governing it.
One-third of handgun owners in states where no permit is required to carry a loaded firearm did so in the previous month, compared to one-fifth of owners in states with substantial discretion in granting permits.
The study found that the number of handgun owners who did not have a permit when they were required to have one increased between 2015 and 2019.
Some respondents admitted that they didn't know if they had a permit. Some people wouldn't answer questions about permits, days they carried firearms, or the type of guns they owned.
After a recent US Supreme Court ruling struck down a New York state handgun-carrying law, other states have loosened their laws.
According to Rowhani-Rahbar, the study reinforces the importance of studying the implications of handgun carrying for public health and public safety.
Young people's right to health, life, and safety are at risk due to gun violence and firearm-related deaths.
In 2020, firearm-related injury was the leading cause of death in the US for adolescents and infants aged 1 to 19 years.
Most firearm-related deaths are caused by suicides, homicides, or accidental fatal injuries.
Half of Americans want gun laws in their country to be stricter. A major rewrite of legislation is required to see significant change according to previous analyses.
The study was published in a public health journal.
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