December 14th, 2022 marked the 10 year anniversary of the Sandy Hook School massacre, a day in which 20 children and 6 teachers were murdered at the Newtown Elementary school in Connecticut. Despite politicians’ statements that they would attempt to fix the problem of gun-violence throughout the country, few pieces of federal legislation have since been passed. The most recent piece of legislation was the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which closed the loophole on allowing convicted domestic violence abusers access to weapons and clarified the definition of a federal firearm dealer. Although there is massive public support for gun-violence prevention legislation, partisan gridlock has failed to pass such legislation and the root causes of gun-violence have not been addressed. Ten years after the promise of gun-violence prevention following the horror that occurred at Newtown Elementary, gun-violence and mass shootings are still widely prominent throughout the United States.
The State of Gun Violence Today
Immediately after the Sandy Hook mass shooting, two bills, The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 and the Manchin-Toomey proposal, were proposed to prevent future gun-related homicides and suicides. These bills would have mandated criminal background checks for all firearm sales, but neither bill passed. The United States continued with the status quo of tens of thousands of people dying each year from gun-violence.
In the past ten years, gun violence in America has been worse than ever before. The number of gun suicides and homicides have grown since the Sandy Hook shooting, as has the rate of both firearm homicides and suicides. The firearm homicide rate was the highest its been in the last 25 years, the firearm suicide rate and overall count of firearm suicides have increased over the past 20 years, firearm death is now the leading cause of mortality for children, and active shooter incidents per year have nearly doubled since the Sandy Hook Shooting. Around 43% of all firearm deaths are from homicide, while 54% are from suicides, amounting to 43,676 individuals who died due to gun violence in 2020 alone.
What Can be Done?
Despite the increase in gun violence across the nation since the Sandy Hook Shooting, some states have adopted gun violence prevention measures that have proven to limit the amount of gun- related suicide and gun-related homicide in their respective states. Below is an outline of the reforms, which are both legal and effective and need to be implemented federally in order to limit the amount of gun violence that plagues the country.
1. Universal background check bills – Perhaps the most well-known and talked about piece of gun violence prevention legislation are universal background checks. Currently, there are limited disqualifications for individuals who want to purchase weapons, such as certain types of criminal convictions and documented mental health conditions. Yet, these disqualifications need to be expanded federally and need to be implemented in all purchases and transfers of firearms. Universal background checks will require a background check to be run for all sellers of firearms, including unlicensed sellers. On a case-by-case basis, individuals will either be granted or rejected ability to purchase their weapons.
Universal background checks will prevent individuals who are at risk of harming themselves or others the ability to legally purchase a weapon, and has reduced both firearm homicide and firearm suicide. Universal background check bills have been passed in 14 states to include unlicensed sellers and 90% of Americans support requiring background checks for all sales of weapons.
2. Waiting periods – Access to weapons during a mental health crisis increases the likelihood that an individual fatally harms themselves or someone else. Due to this, nine states have placed waiting period bills on the purchase of firearms. Waiting period bills attempt to prevent rash decisions during a mental health crisis and prevent individuals from committing homicide and suicide upon acquisition of weapon. Upon implementation of these bills, after legal purchase of a firearm, a 3-10 day waiting period is enforced before the individual can gain access to their newly purchased weapon. Even if the waiting period is just a couple of days, this may prevent a high-risk individual from obtaining a lethal means to end their life or someone else’s.
3. Safe storage laws – Similar to waiting period bills, safe storage laws attempt to prevent access to firearms during a mental health crisis.Twenty-three states have passed safe storage laws, which mandate that individuals keep their firearms in a gun-safe, gun-lock, or locked room, and have their ammunition separate from their weapons. These laws can prevent accidental shootings, suicide or homicide by someone who is not the rightful owner of the weapon, and add additional burdens if someone wants to end their life or others’ lives. For example, the additional time it takes to acquire and load a weapon may provide more time for that individual to reconsider.
4. Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) – ERPO laws have been passed by 19 states and the District of Columbia, and have become more common since the Parkland School Shooting in 2018. EPRO laws are unique in the fact that they prevent both the purchase and acquisition of weapons. Under ERPO legislation, people who interact with a high-risk individual can ask a judge to implement an ERPO, which, if granted, will require law enforcement to temporarily revoke their firearms and issue a temporary moratorium on the purchase of weapons. These orders can last up to a year, with the possibility of extension, and will prevent individuals from harming themselves or others.
Conclusion
All types of gun violence have only gotten worse since the Sandy Hook Shooting 10 years ago. Firearm suicides and homicides continue to increase and the United States continues to be plagued by mass shootings. Common-sense gun violence prevention legislation needs to be passed in order to restrict access to a lethal means to end someone’s life during a mental health crisis. Universal background checks, waiting periods, safe storage laws, and ERPOs all prevent high-risk individuals from accessing weapons and have shown to prevent homicide and suicide. The status quo of gun-violence is unacceptable. Change must occur and policies need to be passed in order to protect people living in the United States.
Lucas Fox is a Senior Online Editor with GPPR and a Second Year Master of Public Policy Student at Georgetown University. Lucas is especially interested in conducting research regarding gun-violence prevention and criminal justice reform. Lucas obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, focusing on Economics and Environmental Science. In his free time, Lucas loves trying new restaurants and hiking in Shenandoah National Park.
