• Ann. Intern. Med. · Feb 2022

    Firearm Purchasing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From the 2021 National Firearms Survey.

    • Matthew Miller, Wilson Zhang, and Deborah Azrael.
    • Northeastern University and Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Boston, Massachusetts (M.M.).
    • Ann. Intern. Med. 2022 Feb 1; 175 (2): 219225219-225.

    BackgroundThe surge in background checks beginning in March 2020 suggested an acceleration in firearm purchases. Little was known about the people who bought these guns.ObjectiveTo estimate the number and describe characteristics of firearm purchasers over a period spanning prepandemic and pandemic time, characterize new gun owners, and estimate the number of persons newly exposed to household firearms.DesignProbability-based online survey conducted in April 2021. Survey weights generated nationally representative estimates.SettingUnited States, 1 January 2019 to 26 April 2021.Participants19 049 of 29 985 (64%) English-speaking adults responded to the survey invitation; 5932 owned firearms, including 1933 who had purchased firearms since 2019, of whom 447 had become new gun owners.MeasurementsThe estimated number and characteristics of adults who, since 2019, have purchased firearms, distinguishing those who became new gun owners from those who did not, and the estimated number of household members newly exposed to firearms.ResultsAn estimated 2.9% of U.S. adults (7.5 million) became new gun owners from 1 January 2019 to 26 April 2021. Most (5.4 million) had lived in homes without guns, collectively exposing, in addition to themselves, over 11 million persons to household firearms, including more than 5 million children. Approximately half of all new gun owners were female (50% in 2019 and 47% in 2020 to 2021), 20% were Black (21% in 2019 and in 2020-2021), and 20% were Hispanic (20% in 2019 and 19% in 2020-2021). By contrast, other recent purchasers who were not new gun owners were predominantly male (70%) and White (74%), as were gun owners overall (63% male, 73% White).LimitationsRetrospective assessment of when respondents purchased firearms. National estimates about new gun owners were based on 447 respondents.ConclusionEfforts to reduce firearm injury should consider the recent acceleration in firearm purchasing and the characteristics of new gun owners.Primary Funding SourceThe Joyce Foundation.

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