Firearms policy in the United States must balance the Constitutional right to bear arms and public interest in gun ownership with concerns about public health and safety. However, the information that policymakers need to understand the likely effects of different policies is scarce. Empirical studies of gun laws are often contested or contradicted by other studies, leaving policymakers uncertain how to effectively protect legitimate gun uses while also promoting community wellbeing. RAND is engaged in an initiative to develop policy analysis tools and research syntheses, grounded in science, aimed at clarifying the effects of current and proposed firearms policies. In this talk, Andrew Morral, the leader of RAND’s work in this area will summarize some of the initiative’s key findings, then describe preliminary results from RAND’s efforts to estimate the effects on firearms fatalities of three common state gun laws: child access prevention laws, shall-issue concealed carry laws, and stand-your-ground laws. RSVP: ciararob@sas.upenn.edu