Addressing Gun Deaths
I support gun reforms, but current efforts are focused on areas that yield minimal changes. Banning assault weapons is an act of political theater that still leaves 99% of gun deaths unaddressed.
**Before any movement is made on guns, the influence of lobbyists must be minimized. The enactment of a two-term (12-year) limit for senators and a three-term (6-year) limit for representatives would alter the influence peddled by both gun rights supporters and gun control advocates.**
I own a gun to protect my home, and I have no intention of discharging it except in self-defense. LA County District Attorney George Gascon has supported laxity of local and state crime laws and avoided the prosecution of criminal suspects. With the resultant rise in crime, wouldn’t you want to protect your home as well?
The widespread implementation of universal background checks would prevent gun sales to criminals, but how can we identify people as criminals if DA Gascon refuses to prosecute the suspects?
Breaking down the gun numbers: More people die of suicide than homicide.
The facts about gun suicides
Rates of Firearm Suicide by Age Group
Older white men are most likely to die by gun suicides; these men need psychiatric support. Gun control will not address their depression.
White men and women more often die from suicide, while black men and women more often die from homicide. Men are nearly 7 times more likely to die from firearms than women, regardless of race.
Firearm Death Rates (Suicide vs Homicide) for Men
Firearm Death Rates (Suicide vs Homicide) for Women
The facts about gun homicides
In 2021, 48,830 people died by guns. 703 (1.4%) people were killed by assault weapons.
98.6% of people who died by guns would STILL die by guns if assault weapons are banned.1 The federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004 (red line below), and the rate of firearm homicides did not change afterwards because nearly 99% of firearm homicides are committed with something other than assault weapons.
An assault weapon ban is an inefficient, ineffective act of political theater that wins popularity contests but does not result in meaningful outcomes.
90% of criminals obtain their guns illegally
Only 1.2% of criminals obtained their weapons from gun shows or flea markets2 (see figure below). Closing the “gun show loophole” would still leave 98.8% of gun crimes unaddressed.
Further point-of-sale regulations, such as background checks and waiting periods, will be bypassed by the 90% of criminals who already skirted the existing regulations by obtaining their guns from places other than federally-licensed firearm dealers.
So what is the answer?
The answer for the gun issue lies in separate-but-interconnected issues:
HEALTHCARE: Expanded mental health services are effective at reducing gun violence (suicides and homicides) on the individual level.3
EDUCATION: Skills-based education focused on math and science fosters children into responsible, productive citizens and will decrease gun violence on a community level.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: Widespread access to different family planning options promotes financial stability and parental engagement.
Poverty begets gun violence.
Lack of education and skilled employment beget poverty.
Unexpected pregnancies beget interrupted education and employment.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016. US DOJ Special Report NCJ251776, January 2019.
American Psychological Association. (2013, December 1). Gun violence: Prediction, prevention, and policy. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/gun-violence-prevention