Gun Safety – Legislative Solutions

Legislative Solutions

While we can’t solve this dilemma exclusively through legislation, we know that some legislation is highly effective at reducing gun violence, deaths, and injuries.  What works/what doesn’t?

Effective Gun Safety Legislation

While Americans remain sharply divided about gun control, individual proposals are widely favored. The most popular and effective gun control legislation measures, like universal background checks and keeping guns from violent criminals, are supported by 85% of registered voters.

Gun rights and public safety can co-exist.  The majority of gun owners support reasonable restrictions including a requirement for criminal background checks, assault weapon bans,  waiting periods for gun purchase and campus carry bans.

An armed citizenry does not reduce crime.  Among 27 developed countries, there is no significant correlation between guns per capita and the crime rate.

Much firearm violence isn’t a criminal problem but stems from the unregulated distribution of a dangerous consumer product.  Since the 1970s, Congress has explicitly prohibited the Consumer Product Safety Commission from regulating and overseeing the design of firearms and ammunition; toy guns are regulated by the CPSC.  The 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Guns Act protects gun manufacturers against liability claims.

Strengthening background checks and extreme risk protection orders are among the most effective ways to keep firearms away from dangerous people.  In the three years after Missouri eliminated its permit requirement in 2007, gun homicide rates increased 25%.  The law’s repeal was associated with an increased annual murder rate of 14%. Conversely, Connecticut’s gun homicide rate fell 29% percent in the 18 years after it began requiring permits in 1995.

Stand Your Ground laws increase homicide rates while resulting in no corresponding reduction in criminal activity.  Nonetheless, Florida’s Stand Your Ground legislation was expanded in 2017, shifting the burden of proof to prosecutors in pretrial hearings and removing the requirement that a person must first be attacked in their home or vehicle before using or threatening to use force.

Safety measures reduce firearm deaths.  Massachusetts requires guns to be locked; youth suicides are 35% below the national average.

For More Information:

  1. “America Under Fire: An Analysis of Gun Violence in the United States and the Link to Weak Gun Laws,” Center for American Progress, October 11, 2016.
  2. “A Roadmap for Reducing Gun Violence in America [lecture by Dr. Daniel Webster],” Syracuse University, Oct. 13, 2016.
  3. “What Works to Reduce Gun Deaths,” The Economist, May 22, 2018.

Child Access Prevention Laws

Guns in homes pose a clear risk to the safety of children, especially when guns are not stored safely or securely; tragic unintentional shootings and youth suicides occur far too often.  CAP laws hold gun owners accountable for safe storage of their firearms and helps prevent guns from falling into young hands.

  • 75% of guns used in youth suicide attempts and unintentional injuries are stored in the residence of the victim, relative or a friend.
  • 1/3 of handguns are kept loaded and unlocked, and most children know where their parents keep their guns-even if the parents think otherwise.
  • There are no federal level CAP laws. Each state determines its own laws.  27 states and D.C. have enacted some form of CAP law. There are a variety of forms ranging from imposing criminal liability when a child gains access to unsecured guns, to only when the child uses the firearm and causes death or injury.

Evaluation:

  • CAP laws have been shown to be effective at reducing youth suicides and accidental shootings.
  • One study showed that of twelve states where CAP laws had been in effect for at least one year, unintentional firearm deaths fell by 23% among children under age fifteen.
  • Researchers found that CAP laws were associated with an 8.3% decrease in suicides among children ages 14-17.

For More Information:

  1. Rand Corporation, “The Effects of Child Access Prevention Laws”
  2. Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, “Child Access Prevention”

Gun Violence Protection Orders

Gun Violence Protection Orders (GVRO), often referred to as “extreme risk protection orders” and “red flag laws,” empower families and law enforcement to prevent gun tragedies by temporarily eliminating access to guns to individuals who are believed to have an increased risk of endangering themselves or others.

  • 80% of people considering suicide give some sign of their intentions and 38 out of the 62 mass shooters in the last 20 years were reported as displaying signs of dangerous mental health problems prior to the killings.
  • GVPOs are based on a long-standing infrastructure and procedure of domestic violence protection orders and involve both a court hearing and clearly defined due process protections.
  • As of July 2019, at least 17 states have some form of GVPOs or similar laws including California, Connecticut, Indiana, and Washington.  Many were enacted after the 2018 Parkland HS shooting.

In 2018, the FL Legislature enacted Risk Protection Orders which allow law enforcement to petition the court to temporarily seize ammunition and firearms, for up to one year, from a person who poses a significant danger to him/herself or others.   Under this law, family and household members cannot petition the court directly; we urge our legislators to expand state law to include those groups. Click here to see number of GVPOs issued in Pinellas County, FL between implementation in April 2018 and late July 2019.  63 of 332 issued during period were filed by the St. Petersburg Police Department.

For More Information:

  1. Sue Carlton, “Dangerous but disarmed: how Florida has confiscated thousands of guns,” Tampa Bay Times, 22 Oct 2019.
  2. Americans for Responsible Solutions, “Fact Sheet: Gun Violence Protection Orders”
  3. NY Times, “What are Red Flags and How do They Work?” (Aug 6, 2019)

Universal Background Checks

Since 2013, between 89-97% of Americans support background checks for all gun sales, with support peaking at 97% in the immediate aftermath of the Parkland shooting.  Gun owners and non-gun owners alike share a common belief that guns should be kept away from dangerous people.

By federal law, it is illegal for a licensed dealer to sell a firearm without performing a background check. Background checks preclude sales to a potential buyer who is:

  • under indictment for a felony
  • a user of a controlled substance
  • a fugitive from justice
  • an undocumented immigrant
  • under a court restraining order for harassing or stalking an intimate partner
  • mentally defective
  • dishonorably discharged from the military
  • convicted of domestic violence
  • renounced U.S. citizenship

2. The most dangerous gap in federal firearms laws is the “private sale” loophole. Neither federal nor Florida law requires unlicensed “private sellers,” including those who sell online and at gun shows, to complete a background check.

3. In the absence of a comprehensive background check system, criminals and other prohibited persons routinely exploit the massive loopholes in our laws.   About 80% of firearms acquired for criminal purposes are obtained through transfers from unlicensed sellers

4. Researchers confirm that expanded background check laws, which close loopholes, effectively improve public safety and save lives. 21 states and the District of Columbia have extended the background check requirement beyond federal law to at least some private sales.  States with universal background check laws experience:

  • 48% less gun trafficking
  • 38% fewer deaths of women shot by intimate partners
  • 53% lower gun suicide rates and 31% fewer suicides per capita than states not having these laws

For more information:

  1. Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
  2. Pew Research Center on Gun Policy
  3. Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research