State Intimate Partner Violence–Related Firearm Laws and Intimate Partner Homicide Rates in the United States, 1991 to 2015

TLDR

In the United States, laws that prohibit intimate partner violence offenders from possessing firearms, and some that also require them to surrender firearms, are intended to reduce intimate partner homicide. The study aimed to evaluate the association between state IPV‑related firearm laws and intimate partner homicide rates from 1991 to 2015. The authors conducted a panel study of U.S. states from 1991 to 2015, linking state IPV firearm laws to annual intimate partner homicide rates using FBI Uniform Crime Reports.

Abstract

To prevent intimate partner homicide (IPH), some states have adopted laws restricting firearm possession by intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders. "Possession" laws prohibit the possession of firearms by these offenders. "Relinquishment" laws prohibit firearm possession and also explicitly require offenders to surrender their firearms. Few studies have assessed the effect of these policies.To study the association between state IPV-related firearm laws and IPH rates over a 25-year period (1991 to 2015).Panel study.United States, 1991 to 2015.Homicides committed by intimate partners, as identified in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports, Supplementary Homicide Reports.IPV-related firearm laws (predictor) and annual, state-specific, total, and firearm-related IPH rates (outcome).State laws that prohibit persons subject to IPV-related restraining orders from possessing firearms and also require them to relinquish firearms in their possession were associated with 9.7% lower total IPH rates (95% CI, 3.4% to 15.5% reduction) and 14.0% lower firearm-related IPH rates (CI, 5.1% to 22.0% reduction) than in states without these laws. Laws that did not explicitly require relinquishment of firearms were associated with a non-statistically significant 6.6% reduction in IPH rates.The model did not control for variation in implementation of the laws. Causal interpretation is limited by the observational and ecological nature of the analysis.Our findings suggest that state laws restricting firearm possession by persons deemed to be at risk for perpetrating intimate partner abuse may save lives. Laws requiring at-risk persons to surrender firearms already in their possession were associated with lower IPH rates.Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.