Bombshell Study: Gun Owners Tend to Be Angry, Unstable, Impulsive

AATTP No big surprise, but a study has found if you have several guns then you are more likely to have anger issues. The study was conducted by researchers from universities including Duke and Harvard. The findings were published in the journal, Behavioral Sciences and the Law and showed more importance and focus should be placed on individuals with a “history of violent behavior” and “less on diagnosed mental illness” when trying to reduce gun violence. The study also found that guns are “disproportionately owned” by those who are more likely to have trouble with anger management and impulse control. The LA times reported:

“…people owning six or more guns were more likely to fall into both of these categories than people who owned a single gun.”

The study comes about at a time when lawmakers are fixated on the idea that guns should be kept out of the hands of those with a history of mental illness. However, as the LA times states:

“…the new study implies that doing so would make only a small dent in this tally of morbidity and mortality.”

Jeffrey Swanson, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University shared explained the evidence:

“The traditional legal approach has been to prohibit firearms from involuntarily committed psychiatric patients. But now we have more evidence that current laws don’t necessarily keep firearms out of the hands of a lot of potentially dangerous individuals.”

In other words, yes, we are protected from those with diagnosed mental illness. However, if an angry person with impulse control issues has a clean record and clear medical history, they pose more of a danger to society.