From the Sac Bee: Gun buyers in California convicted of driving under the influence are at greater risk of committing a violent crime or a firearm-related offense, a group of researchers at UC Davis found in a broad study that tracks gun purchasers over the span of a decade.
The study, which monitored people who bought guns in 2001 until 2013, builds on previous research that warns of a disturbing connection between alcohol use and gun violence. But the latest work relies on a larger sample of nearly 80,000 records on legal handgun buyers.
Researchers found that 3 percent of purchasers with a prior DUI conviction engaged in violent crime with a firearm, according to the findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. By comparison, only 0.5 percent of people with no prior arrests or convictions committed a violent crime with a firearm.