# The Role of Permit-to-Purchase in the Primary Prevention of Multiple Forms of Violence

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $349,999

## Abstract

Abstract:
Permit-to-purchase (PTP) laws for handguns are state-level policies that creates a robust system to restrict
access to guns by prohibited individuals and deter straw purchasing (i.e., when someone who is not prohibited
buys a gun for someone else). PTP laws address weaknesses in federal laws by extending background check
requirements to all gun sales and establishing an application process that involves the purchaser directly
engaging law enforcement and undergoing a more rigorous background check. Prior evaluations of PTP laws
suggest they are effective at reducing diversions of guns for use in crime through straw purchasing, and
homicide and suicide by firearm. To date, evaluations of PTP laws have primarily focused on population
impacts at either the state- or county-level. This study seeks to extend our understanding on the effectiveness
of PTP laws by examining their effects specifically on youth violence and intimate partner violence.
This study has four specific aims. Aim 1 will estimate the impact of PTP laws on youth homicide, suicide, and
nonfatal shootings. Data will include death certificates from the National Center for Health Statistics and
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Aim 2 will estimate the impact of PTP laws on the
perpetration of violent crime and weapons offenses by youth. Data will include the FBI's Uniform Crime Report
arrest files and NIBRS. Aim 3 will estimate the impact of PTP laws on the types of firearms used in youth
suicide by assessing whether there is a substitution to long guns compared to handguns. Data includes the
National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). Aim 4 will estimate the impact of PTP laws on intimate
partner homicide and familicide. Data will include Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR) and NVDRS. Data
for each aim will be stratified by firearm involvement, race/ethnicity, and age group (<18 and > 18) where
appropriate to assess for differential impacts across subgroups. We propose using comparative interrupted
time series (Aims 1-4), synthetic control modeling (SCM) (Aims 1-4), augmented SCM (Aims 1-4), and cross-
sectional analyses (Aims 3 and 4) to assess the impact of PTP laws on violent outcomes. Our models will
control for state-level demographics, socioeconomic correlates of violence and suicide, and other policies
previously found to be associated with the outcomes of interest. Utilizing multiple sources of data with both
fatal and nonfatal outcomes increases our ability to address each aim and strengthens our ability to make
strong causal inferences.
This proposed study fills important gaps in our knowledge on effective policies to prevent multiple forms of
violence. This proposal is the first to specifically examine the impact of PTP laws on youth violence-related
outcomes and only the second examining intimate partner violence. Currently, only 9 states have PTP laws
that cover all handgun transfers. Findings from this study could inform how both states and ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10385009
- **Project number:** 1U01CE003368-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Cassandra Crifasi
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $349,999
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-30 → 2024-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10385009

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10385009, The Role of Permit-to-Purchase in the Primary Prevention of Multiple Forms of Violence (1U01CE003368-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10385009. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*