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Kimberly Knowlton

English 2010

Gun Violence Report

April 10, 2018

Proposed Action to End America’s Gun Violence Epidemic

February 14, 2018, marked a distinct shift in the conversation about gun regulation in America.

On this day seventeen students at Margaret Stoneman Douglas High School were massacred by a

fellow student using an AR-15. This wasn’t the first school shooting in America, and although

this shooting occurred only a few short months ago, it already has been replaced as the latest.

The aftermath of this school shooting however, was the first of its kind. Alongside the regular

funerals and shell-shocked communities, this shooting left in its wake anger and determination. It

wasn’t only eulogies that these surviving students were writing; it was also speeches on gun

reform and letters to their representatives in Congress. Their voices have amplified the national

conversation and since their outcry against the current epidemic of gun violence in the United

States, students all across the nation have been organizing with rallies, marches, panels, and

vigils to demand change.

One of the changes these students are proposing is a ban on assault style weapons. They claim

that these weapons should not be in the hands of regular civilians, but instead reserved for

military use. A panel of students organizers in Utah explained that “although handguns account

for most of the gun violence that occurs in America, shootings done with assault style weapons
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have a much higher average victim count” (Moffat et al). These assault style weapons have been

used in several of the deadliest mass shootings in America including those in Las Vegas,

Orlando, Sutherland Springs, Aurora, and most recently, Parkland (Washington Post). In an

interview with Congressman Chris Stewart, however, he expressed his concern that the term

“assault weapon” was used broadly and without a concrete definition that would enable a ban to

be enacted (Chris Stewart et al). Other local politicians have echoed these concerns. In 1994,

When congress passed a decade-long federal assault weapons ban the definition included

eighteen models of assault-style weapons and a more general ban on weapons which included

military style features such as a folding stock or flash suppressor (Christopher Ingram). This

federal ban also included a ban on high capacity magazines, another measure which these

students are calling for. Students have concurred that the ban they are calling for would be

comparable to this previous assault weapon ban. While this assault weapons ban is not expected

to drastically affect the frequency of gun violence in America on its own, the goal of these

students with this action is to lower the lethality of the gun violence that does exist.

Another measure these students are demanding is stricter background checks. This measure

includes an array of policy changes that would close what is known as the gun show loophole

and implement waiting periods between the purchase and obtaining of a weapon that would

allow for more comprehensive background checks to be completed. This is one of the least

controversial measures that these students have been calling for with national polls showing 97

percent of American adults would be in support of universal background checks (Tim Malloy).

Federally, licensed dealers are required to run a background check on any buyer, but private
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sellers are still able to legally sell guns without any such measures (Giffords Law Center).

According to a 2015 study, around twenty-two percent of gun owners obtained their most

recently obtained gun without having any sort of background check conducted (Miller Hepburn).

The purpose of implementing these universal background checks would be to make it more

difficult for people who would not pass a background check, to obtain a weapon. Even those

guns used in mass shootings by shooters who have previously shown signs of being dangerous,

are often obtained legally through means that do not require a background check to be

conducted, such as private sales that are not regulated by these constraints. By requiring that all

gun sales, from private or licensed sellers, conduct a background check, those with a history of

violent crime would find it more difficult to obtain weapons, hopefully detering further lethal

violence.

In addition to universal background check requirements, students hope to implement a waiting

period of three to five days between the buying and obtaining of a weapon. Currently no waiting

period exists federally, but students think it could have a dual purpose in preventing gun

violence. Our current background check laws prioritize allowing people to obtain weapons

quickly over comprehensive background checks. Federal law currently allows a dealer to deliver

a gun as soon as a primary background check is completed, or after three business days

following a purchase regardless of the completion of a background check (Giffords Law

Center). Known as the “Charleston loophole” or “default proceed” this flaw regularly allows

over 3,000 ineligible people to obtain firearms every year (FBI). Implementing this waiting

period could also be beneficial in reducing more impulsive acts of gun violence including
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suicides. Suicides by gun are lethal over ninety percent of the time compared to the thirty-four

percent success rate of suicides by jumping and a two percent success rate of suicides by drug

poisoning (Matthew Miller et al). The current lack of waiting period to obtain a weapon enables

impulsive acts such as suicide which are made much more lethal when guns are involved. States

that have previously implemented waiting periods have seen a reduction in not only suicide rates,

but also a reduction in gun homicides (Michael Luca).

In the face of backlash, students continue to maintain that the goal of this movement is not to

abolish the right to bear arms currently maintained in the United States. At a recent

demonstration, one student organizer, Grace Shirley stated “We are the mass shooting

generation,” and other student organizers recounted anecdotes of their personal experiences with

gun violence and their subsequent investment in solving this issue (Benjamin Woods). The

students ultimate goal by restricting gun access is simply to take preventative measures against

gun violence before people are forced to resort to gun violence in self defence. From Parkland,

Florida, all the way to Salt Lake City, Utah, and all across the United States, students are taking a

stand and demanding change to cure the current epidemic of gun violence.
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Works Cited

Hayes, Christal, and Emily Bohatch. “'I'm Sick to My Stomach': 17 Dead in Florida High

School Shooting; Former Student in Custody.” ​USA Today​, Gannett Satellite Information

Network, 15 Feb. 2018.

Calvert, Scott. “Since Parkland's #NeverAgain, School Shootings Have Happened

Again.” ​The Wall Street Journal​, Dow Jones & Company, 15 Mar. 2018.

Moffat, Marren, et al. “Gun Reform Forum.” 25 Apr. 2018.

“Analysis | More than 50 Years of U.S. Mass Shootings: The Victims, Sites, Killers and

Weapons.” ​The Washington Post​, WP Company, 1 Oct. 2017.

Stewart, Chris, et al. “Representative Interview on Gun Reform.” 28 Mar. 2018.

Ingraham, Christopher. “Analysis | The Real Reason Congress Banned Assault Weapons

in 1994 - and Why It Worked.” ​The Washington Post​, WP Company, 22 Feb. 2018.

Malloy, Tim, and Patricik Smith. ​U.S. Support for Gun Control Tops 2-1, Highest Ever,

Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Let Dreamers Stay 80 Percent of Voters Say​.

“Background Check Procedures.” ​Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence​.

Miller M, Hepburn L, Azrael D. Firearm Acquisition Without Background Checks:

Results of a National Survey. Ann Intern Med. 2017;166:233–239. doi: 10.7326/M16-1590

​“Waiting Periods.” ​Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence​.

​National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Operations 2013​. FBI, 14

July 2014.
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Miller, Matthew, et al. “Suicide Mortality in the United States: The Importance of

Attending to Method in Understanding Population-Level Disparities in the Burden of Suicide.”

Annual R​eview of Public Health​, vol. 33, no. 1, 2012, pp. 393–408.

Michael Luca, Deepak Malhotra, and Christopher Poliquin, “Handgun Waiting Periods

Reduce Gun Deaths,” ​PNAS ​(2017): 1-4.

Wood, Benjamin. “Utah Students Hold 2nd Round of School-Safety Rallies Friday,

Marking Columbine Anniversary .” ​Salt Lake Tribune​, 21 Apr. 2018.