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Research now shows that far more frequently, perpetrators share one common thread. 滨苍听, in gun homicide and particularly in much more common gun deaths, the killer is frequently, until that moment, a law-abiding firearm owner pulling the trigger on a聽.

In the 16 deadliest mass shootings in Europe between 1987 and 2015, 86% of the victims were shot by a聽. In at least 29 American mass gun killings since 2007, 139 people were killed by聽聽with hidden handgun permits.

In 16 mass shootings in Australia and New Zealand between 1987 and 2014, 135 people died. Most of the victims 鈥� 55% 鈥� were shot by previously law-abiding,聽聽using legally held firearms.

It鈥檚 hard to imagine a motorists鈥� lobby group insisting that licensed drivers should be left alone on the roads, and that the problem is unlicensed drivers. Yet gun owners have been聽聽for decades.

This begs the question: are licensed gun owners automatically good citizens? As with licensed motorists, the evidence says no.

Pulling the trigger

Mass shootings are far and away the rarest of firearm-related deaths. The global toll of聽聽each year is made up mainly of single shootings 鈥� 鈥渘on-conflict鈥� deaths that occur during interpersonal disputes between familiar people, such as domestic violence and gang shootings.

Very few researchers break down these data. But where studies have been published, even in a count of 鈥渆veryday鈥� gun homicide, previously law-abiding shooters are frequently the killers.

Of the firearms seized from Canadians who were violent, had threatened violence, or were subject to a prohibition order,聽聽to licensed gun owners. In New Zealand, half the perpetrators in both聽聽firearm-related domestic disputes and in聽聽have been licensed gun owners.

滨苍听聽in England and Wales, the firearms were legally held by the perpetrator. In Australia, a licensed firearm owner was the killer in聽听迟辞听聽of gun homicides聽. In South Africa,聽聽is killed with a legally owned gun.

Around the world, first responders are in no doubt of the dangers, especially in callouts to domestic violence.聽聽an Australian police union:

As with any research, it鈥檚 true that in other periods and populations the figures might have been lower or higher. This is particularly so in the US, where the global norms of gun owner licensing and firearm registration are聽聽and almost any adult non-felon can聽uncounted firearms.

Researchers rarely tally the legal status of guns fired. Without consistent studies to establish an accurate average, we鈥檙e left with what we鈥檝e got.

We do know that, in the US, licensing many more millions of Americans to carry hidden handguns 鈥� 鈥渃oncealed carry weapons鈥� 鈥� is a聽聽of the gun lobby. But in the past eight years alone, American gun owners lawfully entitled to carry hidden handguns are known to have killed聽, including聽, in shootings not ruled to be self-defence. As some US states also legislate to conceal the data, these figures are conservative.

Origins of crime guns

The role of licensed gun owners and dealers also looms large in the origin of crime guns. 滨苍听听补苍诲听, guns traced from crime scenes were most commonly imported from licensed dealers and lawful gun owners in the US.

When Australian authorities traced firearms found in crime, the聽were found to have leaked from licensed gun owners and聽, either directly into the criminal black market or into the larger聽. Australian gun owners who neglected to register their firearms after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996聽聽this market.

Another staple of gun owner belief comes into play here: the聽聽that law-abiding people with firearms make us safer. Instead, evidence shows that women, children, and older adults are more likely to die by gunfire from a household gun (typically, legally acquired and possessed) than from illegal guns.

Certainly across the US 鈥� where there are more guns 鈥� there are many more violent deaths. As one of聽聽from Harvard University聽聽the consistency of findings across different populations, using different study designs, and by different researchers is striking. No credible evidence suggests otherwise.

Researchers even聽聽that in gun-owning Australian households the statistics also suggest that it is more likely that all family members will shoot each other dead before any external aggressor is killed.

Almost any adult non-felon can lawfully own an uncounted number of firearms in the US.聽Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

Gun suicide

Finally, there is the elephant in the room: gun suicide. In industrialised nations, most firearm-related deaths have nothing to do with crime. Suicides make up聽听辞蹿听聽in Australia. In the UK it is聽. Even in the US,聽听补谤别听.

Public health practitioners see suicides and homicides as almost equally preventable. But try telling a firearm owner that statistically, the person聽聽from a gun in the home is a member of their own family 鈥� from聽, unintentional gunshot or聽.

Do most firearms used in suicide belong to law-abiding gun owners? We can鈥檛 be sure 鈥� the research hasn鈥檛 been done. Perhaps the result is so self-evident that we don鈥檛 ask the question. If the answer is yes, then licensed gun owners are also mainly responsible for the largest of all categories of firearm-related death.

What can we do?

础蝉听聽recently in the UK, 鈥渃haotic鈥� firearm owner licensing standards are sometimes 鈥渋nexcusably compromising public safety鈥�. In almost all countries, the legal knowledge and hands-on training (if any) necessary to own a firearm is minimal compared to the tests and proven road skills required for even an entry-level licence to drive a car.

Both guns and cars are symbols of masculinity and freedom, so we have good precedent for improvement. Decades of success in lowering the road toll (led by the US) point the way: uniform, stringent licensing of the person, plus registration of the agent of harm work in tandem to substantially lower the risk to public safety.

Undoubtedly it is true that almost all guns (and cars) lawfully registered to licensed owners will rust away harmlessly, never having been used in a death. The great majority of their owners will not commit serious violent crime.

But from a public health perspective, we should not downplay the significant contribution to early mortality posed by previously law-abiding gun owners who, in the heat of the moment, decide to kill.

is founding director of聽, a global project of the University of Sydney's聽聽which compares armed violence, firearm injury prevention and gun law across 300 jurisdictions world-wide. He is a director of the Centre for Armed Violence Reduction and its聽, and acts as regional media contact for the Pacific Small Arms Action Group ().

This article was originally published in .