Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Post-Sandy Hook Behavior Provides Unique Data On Link Between Gun Sales, Accidental Deaths
The Washington Post: Surge In Gun Sales After Sandy Hook Led To Spike In Accidental Gun Deaths, Study Says
In the days after the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, gun enthusiasts rushed to buy millions of firearms, driven by fears that the massacre would spark new gun legislation. Those restrictions never became a reality, but a new study concludes that all the additional guns caused a significant jump in accidental firearm deaths. The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, estimates that the 3 million guns sold in the several months after Sandy Hook caused about 60 more accidental gun deaths than would have occurred otherwise. Children were killed in a third of them — some 20 youngsters, the same number as died at Sandy Hook. (Wan, 12/7)
Los Angeles Times: Add At Least 57 To The Number Of Gun-Related Deaths Tied To The Sandy Hook Mass Shooting
But the aftermath of a mass shooting does not appear to be very good for Americans' safety. New research suggests that the increased availability of firearms after a mass shooting exacts a deadly toll of its own. That toll falls heavily on children, according to the study, which links the spike in gun sales following a mass shooting with an increase in fatal accidents involving firearms. (Healy, 12/7)
NPR: Researchers Look For Gun Violence Clues In Google Searches And Background Checks
In Google search data, the team saw spikes in searches including the terms "clean gun" and "buy gun" immediately following the Newtown shooting. The term "clean gun" is, they argue, an indicator that people may be removing guns they already own from storage in order to clean them. In all, the study concludes that increased gun exposure after Newtown led to an additional 66 accidental shooting deaths in the U.S., a third of whom were children. "It's very challenging to estimate empirically," says Studdert. "If we really wanted to understand the health effects of firearm ownership, we would randomize the ownership of weapons in different households and observe their effects over time. Of course, we can't do that." (Hersher, 12/7)
