More than half of those deaths were suicides, while over 40% were murders. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2020, more than 45,000 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S. This emphasis, however, does not accurately reflect statistics on gun injury and death. They devoted significantly less attention to all other types of gun violence. Studying the communications of gun policy organizations from 2000 to 2017, one of us found that gun control groups mentioned mass shootings in 30% of their blogs, emails and press releases, and in 11% of their Facebook posts. Research shows that gun policy narratives often focus on mass shootings while placing less emphasis on more common forms of gun injury and death, such as individual homicide and suicide. A policy narrative typically contains characters – the victims and perpetrators of violence a setting – the location and other contextual details and a moral or solution. Using an approach called the narrative policy framework, we identify the stories that politicians and interest groups tell about the problem of gun violence and how they use these stories to build political support for their policy goals. Given the wave of pandemic-fueled gun buying that started in 2020, that number is likely much higher.īiden recognizes special guest Brandon Tsay, who disarmed the Monterey Park mass shooter, for his ‘courage to act.’ Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Image Reframing the issueīeyond these facts, the question of why mass shootings continue to happen reveals how policymakers, media, interest groups and citizens understand the problem. Trafficking of guns across state lines for purposes both legal and illicit is well documented, and guns used in crimes are more likely to flow from less regulated states into those with stronger gun laws.Īccording to a 2018 study, there are at least 393 million guns in the United States, making it the most heavily armed civilian population in the world. However, the effectiveness of state gun laws is influenced by those of other states. In California, the annual death rate from gun violence is 8.5 per 100,000 residents, compared with the national average of 13.7. This is true for homicides, suicides and accidental shootings. First, stricter gun control laws do reduce gun-related deaths. How, then, could multiple mass shootings occur in California, leaving at least 19 dead and many others injured, in the span of one week? 1 in the country in gun law strength by gun control advocates Everytown for Gun Safety. With over 100 gun control laws, California has an “A” rating from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and is ranked No.
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