After Nevada hosts a gun show, California sees sharp rise in gun-related injuries and deaths

by Karen Kaplan

In the two weeks after a gun show is held in Nevada, injuries and deaths involving firearms jump by 69% — in neighboring areas of California.

However, when gun shows occur in California, the state does not experience an increase in firearm-related trauma over the next fortnight.

The findings, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, show that state gun laws have a measurable effect on public safety, especially when it comes to gun shows, the study authors wrote.

More than 4,000 gun shows are held in the United States each year, and experts estimate that they’re responsible for 4% to 9% of the nation’s firearms sales. When these sales are made by federally licensed gun dealers, would-be buyers are subject to a background check. But in some states, unlicensed sellers at gun shows don’t have to follow the same rules.

California, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, requires background checks even at gun shows. Nevada does not.

more

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-gun-show-deaths-20171023-story.html