ABSTRACT
This chapter considers research on the relationship between firearms availability and violence (homicide, suicide and violent crime). 1 It critically examines studies on the global number of gun deaths, research methodologies and data sources. It notes that the extant research does not conclusively show a causal relationship between availability and homicide or crime. It concludes by suggesting that more definitive findings could be made by widening the methodological and geographical scope of research, particularly by looking at developing countries which have experienced large changes in arms availability.
