What To Do About Gun Violence

Of homicides and mass shootings

Americans love their guns. That is a simple fact. For many, there are few more fundamental rights than gun ownership; it is equated to individual liberties and limited government. Politicians are elected to office based on their gun rights stance; the Libertarian Party has it as a core philosophy. Guns are romanticized and rooted deep in our history.

I have never owned any firearms but admire their engineering and beauty. In my mind, I see a cowboy spin two revolvers in his hands, quickly reverse them, then slip the two into their holsters. I see a woman standing on a porch; as she loads and aims her rifle, her hair dances in the breeze.  

Guns are contradictory: my friend is an ER doctor- he has seen his fair share of bullet wounds- still, he is a gun aficionado. Another friend is a cop who once patrolled the streets. Gun proliferation is certainly not his friend- yet his libertarian leanings hold that no one should have their gun rights abridged. 

After the abhorrent shooting in Texas, our country is clamoring for ways to reduce gun violence, so much so that even Republicans have reached across the aisle to their Democratic foes. Even so, there are low expectations for breakthrough legislation.

The most ardent critics seek a repeal of the Second Amendment, which guarantees “a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” 

Such talk does not get us anywhere. Simply the act of proposing a Constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote of Congress and the Senate. If that sounds hard, approval depends on agreement from three-quarters of the states.

Rather than hoping for progress from a divided Congress, activists are taking the fight to the states, aiming to enact laws like those in California, which are among the most restrictive in the country. 

There is a trend between rates of firearm ownership and gun homicides, which is intuitive. However, underlying this trend is poverty. States with higher income appear to have less gun violence than lower income states. Below is a chart combining rates of gun ownership, average income, and gun homicides for the 12 most populous states.

Solving the problems of gun violence will require much more than legislation. Many issues are social, which require a completely different approach. Chicago has been in turmoil for years, yet solutions have eluded it. 

Mass shootings are a different beast altogether. Because there is no precise definition for these events, the FBI uses the phrase Active Shooter, which is defined as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area”. The agency compiles an annual list of these incidents.

Over the 20 year period from 2000 to 2019 there were 333 Active shooter events leading to 1,023 deaths and 1,703 wounded. While only a small fraction of total homicides, they tend to receive sustained media coverage, leading to trauma and fear. This is especially palpable when children are involved. 

California had the greatest number of incidents, followed by Texas and Florida- not unexpected considering these are our three largest states. Adjusted for population, they all fall out of the top three. Surprisingly, Texas, which has a 40% higher gun ownership rate than California, has a substantially lower incidence of active shootings. Indeed, there does not appear to be a correlation between gun ownership and active shootings.

As we have seen, local police are clearly ill-equipped to handle extraordinary situations. Even if well trained, most of the carnage would have taken place before their arrival. The key is prevention. 

As of January 1, 2020, there were 16 states with “Red Flag” laws that allow for the removal of firearms from individuals found to pose an imminent risk of harming themselves or others. These measures are well-intentioned and provide a semblance of control. While some states have had these laws on the books for decades, there is little evidence of their effectiveness.

The profile of killers who plan their attacks are well known: almost exclusively male, typically in his twenties or thirties, often disturbed, with ties to his target. Given this knowledge, it may be possible to identify these individuals in advance.

When the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, our country created Homeland Security and the President launched a war. We are now facing a rot from the inside that may require similarly drastic action. 

A hypothetical new federal agency granted the authority to comb through public databases may be able to pinpoint assailments before their plans come to fruition. The hardest part is likely convincing citizens to accept additional government intrusions on their privacy. The odds of such an agency coming to existence anytime soon is close to nil. 

In the meanwhile, extensive media coverage has inspired copycat killers. The number of mass shootings continues to rise.