Citation

Tanay E. J. Forensic Sci. 2011; 56(5): 1389.

Affiliation

Wayne State University, 2980 Provincial Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 E-mail: drtanay@umich.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.01828.x

PMID

21884122

Abstract

For me, as a physician, gun ownership is a public health issue. I want to know what the consequences of gun ownership are. I feel qualified to answer this question since I have examined hundreds of homicide perpetrators in the last 57 years.

There is common misconception that the majority of homicides are carried out by criminals. In reality, most homicides in the United States are the result of an ambivalent relationship between the killer and the victim. Only hit men and robbers kill without having a relationship with the victim. A sudden increase in aggressive level in a relationship may result in an altered state of consciousness, popularly known as “rage.” Because handguns kill quickly, they are decisive in the impulsive homicides.

Language: en