Recent mass shootings have prompted a national dialogue around mental illness and gun policy. To advance an evidence-informed policy agenda on this controversial issue, we formed a consortium of national gun violence prevention and mental health experts. The consortium agreed on a guiding principle for future policy recommendations: restricting firearm access on the basis of certain dangerous behaviors is supported by the evidence; restricting access on the basis of mental illness diagnoses is not. We describe the group’s process and recommendations.
Citation
Paul S. Appelbaum et al., Using Research Evidence to Reframe the Policy Debate around Mental Illness and Guns: Process and Recommendations, 104 American Journal of Public Health e22-e26 (2014).