Stop Gun Violence

WE KNOW WE CAN'T STOP EVERY ACT OF VIOLENCE, BUT WE CAN TRY TO STOP ONE ACT OF ViOLENCE. - BARACK OBAMA

COMMON CAUSES OF GUN VIOLENCE

EASY BACKGROUND CHECKS

THE MOST COMMON FEDERAL BACKGROUND CHECK LEGISLATiON WOULD SIMPLY REQUIRE THAT UNLICENSED SELLERS MEET THEIR BUYERS AT A GUN DEALER. THE GUN DEALER WiLL THEN RUN A BACKGROUND CHECK IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY AS FOR SALES DIRECTLY FROM THE DEALER'S STORE. 99 PERCENT OF AMERICANS LIVE WITHIN 10 MILES OF A GUN DEALER, SO IT'S EASY AND CONVENIENT TO GET THE BACKGROUND CHECK DONE. THERE ARE NEARLY 59,000 UNIQUE GUN DEALERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, FOUR TIMES AS MANY AS THERE ARE MCDONALD'S AND NEARLY TWICE AS MANY AS U.S. POST OFFICES.

GUN AVAILABILITY

US GUN OWNERS POSSESS 393.3 MILLION WEAPONS, ACCORDING TO A 2018 REPORT BY THE SMALL ARMS SURVEY, A GENEVA-BASED ORGANIZATION, WHICH IS HIGHER THAN THE COUNTRY'S POPULATiON NOW OF ABOUT 330 MILLION. INDIA, WHICH HAS ALMOST 1.4 BILLION PEOPLE, HAD THE SECOND MOST CIVILIAN-OWNED FIREARMS WITH 71.1 MILLION.

LAWS PERMITTING MORE PEOPLE TO HAVE GUNS

AS WiTH COMPREHENSiVE BACKGROUND CHECK LAWS, BY RESTRiCTiNG ACCESS TO FIREARMS FOR INDIVIDUALS PRESUMED TO PRESENT GREATER RiSK OF MiSUSiNG THOSE FiREARMS, LICENSING AND PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS ARE INTENDED TO REDUCE GUN VIOLENCE.

POOR GUN REGULATIONS

A STUDY PUBLISHED IN JANUARY BY A LEADING NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT FOCUSES ON GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION FOUND THAT THERE IS A DIRECT CORRELATiON IN STATES WITH WEAKER GUN LAWS AND HIGHER RATES OF GUN DEATHS, INCLUDING HOMICIDES, SUICIDES AND ACCIDENTAL KILLINGS.

RELATION BETWEEN DEATHS AND GUNS

STOP GUN VIOLENCE

THE RATE OF GUN DEATHS HAS INCREASED 33% FROM 2011 TO 2020 IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS MEANS THAT IN 2020 THERE WERE 12,871 MORE GUN DEATHS THAN IN 2011.

IN THE UNITED STATES, THE RATE OF GUN SUICIDE INCREASED 12% AND GUN HOMICIDE INCREASED 70% FROM 2011 TO 2020, RESPECTIVELY.

MORE THAN 500 PEOPLE DIE EVERY DAY FROM GUN VIOLENCE 44% OF ALL HOMICIDES GLOBALLY INVOLVE GUN VIOLENCE.THERE WERE 1.4 MILLION FIREARM-RELATED DEATHS GLOBALLY BETWEEN 2012 AND 2016

THE MAJORiTY OF VICTIMS AND PERPETRATORS ARE YOUNG MEN, BUT WOMEN ARE PARTICULARLY AT RISK OF FIREARMS VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER.

BAN SEMI-AUTOS

AR-15-STYLE SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLES OR SIMILAR GUNS WERE USED IN AT LEAST SIX OF THE 14 MASS SHOOTiNGS SO FAR THIS YEAR IN WHICH FOUR OR MORE VICTIMS DIED, SAYS THE GUN VIOLENCE ARCHIVE. WHILE SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLES HAVE BECOME MORE WIDELY USED OVER THE PAST DECADE, HANDGUNS REMAIN THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF GUN USED IN MASS SHOOTINGS. ACCORDING TO THE VIOLENCE PROJECT, 78 PERCENT OF MASS SHOOTERS SINCE 1966 USED AT LEAST ONE HANDGUN.

AT LEAST ONE ASSAULT WEAPON HAS BEEN USED iN FORTY FOUR PERCENT OF MASS PUBLIC SHOOTINGS SINCE THE JULY 2012 MOVIE THEATER MASSACRE IN AURORA, CO. ACROSS THE PREVIOUS FIVE DECADES, AN ASSAULT WEAPON WAS USED IN ALMOST TWENTY ONE PERCENT OF MASS SHOOTINGS, SAID JAMES DENSLEY OF THE VIOLENCE PROJECT. THIS YEAR ALONE, MASS SHOOTERS USED SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPONS TO KILL OVER 40 PEOPLE BETWEEN MAY AND JULY IN BUFFALO, UVALDE, TULSA, AND HiGHLAND PARK, IL.