A news account of another admission by scientists (National Research Council) that current studies are not able to account for the effects of firearms on violence -- the data does not support conclusions.
Phil http://www.indystar.com/articles/9/202837-9659-010.html Research on guns lacking, study says Dearth of evidence on firearms' effects hurts efforts to reduce violence, panel claims. By Randolph E. Schmid Associated Press December 17, 2004 WASHINGTON -- A new analysis of efforts to control violence by restricting guns says there is not enough evidence to reach valid conclusions about their effectiveness. The National Research Council said Thursday that a major research program on firearms is needed. "Policy questions related to gun ownership and proposals for gun control touch on some of the most contentious issues in American politics," Charles F. Wellford, chairman of the committee that wrote the report, said in a statement. Among the major questions needing answers are whether there should be restrictions on who may possess firearms, on the number or types of guns that can be purchased, and whether safety locks should be required, said Wellford, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Maryland. "These and many related policy questions cannot be answered definitively because of large gaps in the existing science base," he said. "The available data are too weak to support strong conclusions." Thirty-four states have "right to carry" laws that allow certain adults to carry concealed weapons. However, the report found no credible evidence that such laws either decrease or increase violent crime. Citing another example, the report said there is almost no evidence that programs aimed at steering children away from guns have had any effect on their behavior, knowledge or attitudes toward firearms. The report does not address gun policy itself, only the quality of available research data on firearm violence, control and prevention efforts. Many studies linking guns to suicide and criminal violence produce conflicting conclusions, have statistical flaws and often do not show whether gun ownership results in certain outcomes, the report said. A serious limit in such analyses is the lack of good data on who owns firearms and on individual encounters with violence, according to the study. The report noted that many schools have programs intended to prevent gun violence. However, it added, some studies suggest that children's curiosity and teenagers' attraction to risk make them resistant to the programs or that the projects actually increase the appeal of guns. The report calls for the development of a National Violent Death Reporting System and a National Incident-Based Reporting System to begin collecting data. The study by the Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academy of Science, was sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Joyce Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. _______________________________________________ To post, send message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/firearmsregprof Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
