Daniel Romer
Efforts to reduce firearm violence and injury in the US focus mainly on policies that deter persons at risk of unjustified firearm use. These programs attempt to prevent those who might use firearms from harming others or themselves. What has been overlooked are more universal strategies to reduce the demand for firearms, especially handguns, which are the most frequently used weapon for violent purposes. It is also the weapon that is cited by the Supreme Court as sufficiently popular to justify its protection under the Second Amendment. Here it is argued that the widespread portrayal of firearms in entertainment is closely related to the increase in the sales of handguns and their use specifically for assaults rather than for suicide, especially in young people. The public health approach to the reduction of demand for cigarettes provides a useful model for reducing the appeal of handguns. Such a universal strategy can add to the selective and indicated strategies that are currently highlighted in efforts to control firearm use.